


The Cave That Brought Them Together

by LightShadowling



Category: Cartoon Therapy (Web Series), Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Bullying, Censored Swearing, Ghosts, Kissing, M/M, Plot Twist, Secrets, Tickling, Yelling, ignorance, mentions of depression, tragic backstory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-01-25 21:41:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21363100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightShadowling/pseuds/LightShadowling
Summary: This story is one about how four “friends” were brought closer together.  At their high school these four were deemed: The nerd, the emo, the jock, and the affectionate.  At the beginning, these four are not the closest.  In fact, not close at all.  It takes a significant, dare I say, scary, event to build bridges between them.  Now keep in mind, this story is not for the faint of heart.  So sit back, relax, and welcome to The Cave That Brought Them Together.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Dr. Emile Picani/Sleep | Remy Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 26
Kudos: 67





	1. How it all began

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little look into everyone's background...

Logan  
Age: 15  
Looks: Dark, chocolate brunette hair with blue eyes and glasses

Logan Crofter woke up to find a note on his desk. It read:

‘Logan, your father and I got called in for a last minute business trip. Remember to study for your mid-terms that are coming up in 3 weeks. Do all you chores by the time we return.  
\----Mother’

Logan was used to this, but it still hurt. He felt humiliated to think like that. His parents had trained him to not feel, or express feelings and do nothing less than perfection. Logan thought more about this and how to please his parents by the time they came back on the bus ride to school. 

However, he was rudely taken away from his thoughts by the loudness of hearty laughter from behind him. The laughter came from none other than Patton Hart. The school’s resident happy-go-lucky guy. The positive feelings leeching off him are so contagious so Logan had to move seats. Eventually, Logan's bus arrived at school. Logan's rational side told him that he should probably get friends that could last him through high school, but he knew he wouldn’t have time for that. So, he just stood by his locker reading a book until the bell rang. 

Then, he entered the History classroom. 

Virgil  
Age: 16  
Looks: black hair, long fringes with dark brown eyes and black eyeshadow

Virgil Storm was sitting in his bed Monday morning when-

“Would you just stop yelling and listen for once?!”

“Well, if what you had to say was worth listening to, then I would listen!”

His parents were still continuing the fight from last night about… something random. He doesn't ever know what they're fighting about. He quietly snuck out of bed and got ready for school before either of his parents could ask him to side with one of them. He hates getting caught up in their arguments. 

Virgil started walking to school, ignoring all his surroundings as usual. He took out his earbuds and started listening to his playlist which was a mix of My Chemical Romance and some of the best Disney songs. Although he would never admit it, some of the best songs are from Disney movies. 

As he arrived at school, he tried to fight off the idea of his anxiety kicking in if he tried to talk to anyone. So he decided not to talk to anyone. There, problem solved. But he does know that even if he talked to someone, they would probably make fun of him for wearing all black and dark eyeshadow, like always. There goes the bell at 8:30 on the dot. Virgil should really get to class so no one will stare at him like they do when he’s late. 

It’s Monday, so Virgil would have History first period. Great.

Roman  
Age: 16  
Looks: Red hair and green eyes

Roman Prince spent his Monday morning making breakfast for his mother and four little sisters. As he was watching over his pancakes, his mother walked downstairs.

"Morning, Ro. Whatcha making?" Roman’s mother asked.

"Chocolate chip pancakes. Your and Rosa's favorite," He replied.

“Oh, Roman, thank you, you’re so thoughtful!”

“No prob, ma.” 

Roman did a little spin and flipped his pancake, catching it gracefully. Another voice is heard soon after. It came from Roman’s littlest sister of five years, Rosa.

She exclaimed, “He, he, do it again Ro Ro!”

Roman put the pan down and decreased the temperature of the burner. He picked up Rosa in his arms.

“Where did you come from, you little rascal?”

“Upstairs,” Rosa responded.

Roman messed up her hair and she gave him a playful pout. Meanwhile, Roman’s second younger sister of 9 years, Sierra, came down.

“Aw, Rosa, is Roman giving you a problem? I’d easily be able to stick it to him for you.”

“Now, Sierra, that won’t be necessary,” Roman’s mom reprimanded.

“Yeah, yeah. It was just a joke!” Sierra replied.

“It won’t be funny when I’m in the hospital!” Roman joked.

Sierra stuck her tongue out at Roman.

“Don’t be rude or you’re not getting pancakes.”

“Gasp! You monster!”

“Did she just say the word gasp?” Roman’s mother asked.

“I don’t know, she’s your daughter!” Roman said.

They all laughed and enjoyed the moment for a while until…

“Can we have pancakes now, Ro?” Rosa asked.

“Let’s wait until Emma comes down.”

The kitchen table became silent at the mention of Emma. She was Roman oldest sister of 12 years. Lately, it seems like she’s been isolated from the family, more than usual. As if on cue, Emma started walking downstairs. Roman’s mother was the first to break the ice.

“Good morning Emma!”

“No it’s not,” Emma responded.

Everything went silent again.

“Would you like a pancake, Emma?” Roman offered.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” Sierra mumbled.

“Shut it, Sierra, okay?!”

Silence.

“Well, girls, Roman’s going to walk you to school, okay?”

Since the town of Treesburg, Florida is so small, the elementary, middle, and high schools in the district are connected.

“Yes, ma'am,” replied Rosa and Sierra with a cheesy smile of both of their faces.

“Grow up, you two. Come on, Roman, let’s go,” said Emma, bossily, as she slammed the door behind her.

On the way to school, Roman and his sisters were quiet. Roman wishes he knew what Emma was mad about. Finally, they arrived at school. He dropped off Rosa, then Sierra, then Emma. He finally reached his own destination. He hung out with his two best friends Remus Duke and Ethan Snake before the first period bell rang. He realized he had to go to the history classroom. 

Room 113. 

On the other side of the school. 

In less than 3 minutes. 

Shoot.

Patton  
Age: 15  
Looks: Blond, curly hair and blue eyes with glasses  
“Patton? Pat, wake up Pat,” a voice said.  
“It’s time for school,” said another one.  
These voices belong to Patton’s fathers: Remy and Emile Hart.  
“No! You can’t make me!” Patton mumble-shouted at his fathers.

“Oh, but we can.”

Patton sat up.

“You. Wouldn’t. Dare.”

“Oh, we would.”

Remy and Emile started to tickle Patton until he burst out laughing.

“O-okay! I-I’m u-up!” Patton said between giggles.

“Good. But you woke up late today, so you’re gonna have to take your toast on the bus,” Emile said.

“Okay! Bye dads!”

“Have a good day Pat!” Emile responded.

“Yeah, and tell us if that b*tch is ignoring you again!”

“Remy, language!”

“Papa, I told you, for the last time, just because Logan didn’t say hi back doesn’t mean he’s mean. It’s probably not his fault he’s… distant. Just do me a favor and let it go, okay?”

“Of course, anything for you, Pat. Ahem, Remy?”

“Yeah, yeah, but I’m not making any promises.”

Patton gave them a small smile.

“Thanks guys. Bye!”

And Patton was off to the bus stop. He made it to the stop right on time. Patton made his way to the back of the bus where him and his friends Joan and Talyn sat.

“Sup dude,” Talyn said.

“Not much, I got a new dad joke though!”

“Shoot,” Joan responded.

“Okay, so, what do you call a person with no body and no nose?”

The two waited in anticipation for Patton response.

“Nobody knows.”

They all burst out laughing. They laughed for a good minute before Patton's expression turned from a smile to a frown.

“What’s wrong, Pat?” Joan asked.

“Logan just moved away from us,” Patton replied.

“You’re still on about that?” Talyn asked.

“Listen, Pat, you can’t make friends with everyone.”

“I know, but I like to try.”

“We know, Pat.”

The bus stopped. They arrived at school. The students filed off the bus one by one. Patton, Joan, and Talyn made their way to Joan’s locker, where they hang out every day before first period. Patton broke out some new dad jokes and they laughed until they heard the bell ring.

“Have fun at history, Pat,” Joan said.

“You have history now? Lucky! Mr. Sanders is the best,” Talyn commented.

“I know. Bye, you two!”

“Bye Patton!”

And with that, Patton put on his best smile, and walked in the History classroom.


	2. Could History Class Get Any Worse?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dreaded history class. At least it's with Mr. Sanders. Right?

It had been 5 minutes after the bell rang and Mr. Sanders still wasn't in the classroom. But suddenly the door slammed open, but it wasn't Mr. Sanders who came though, it was a student. It was Roman.

"Sorry I'm late, Mr. Sanders. I wasn't watching the time, and- where's Mr. Sanders?"

"Aw, we missed you too, Roman," a random girl said sarcastically.

"Gee, thanks, Jessica,'' Roman replied.

Then, a voice was heard from the back of the classroom.

"Well Roman, one can only infer that due to Mr. Sanders' absence, he must be preparing for some remotely insane activity to 'get our blood pumping' as he phrases it," Logan said, all while still reading the book in his hand.

"And if that didn't get through to your thick skull, he basically said that Sanders is gonna scare us out of our pants again," Virgil added snarkily.

"Oh, what do you know emo nightmare?" Roman asked.

"Come on, kiddos, let's try to get alon-"

Patton was interrupted in his statement when a figure with a black ski mask crashed through the window.

"Give me all your money!" the intruder exclaimed.

Everyone was extremely frightened and ran around in a screaming panic and a girlish scream was heard coming from Roman. Logan continued to read his book until he realized what was going on. He stood up, walked over to the intruder, and pulled of their mask. 

"See, it's Mr. Sanders everyone, there's nothing to be afraid of," Logan said calmly.

"Sanders! You scared us half to death!" Roman shouted.

"I was just trying to get your blood pumping, which I did!" Mr. Sanders said proudly, “Now, everyone take your seats, I need to hand out the guidelines for your next group project.”

Mr. Sanders started to pass out the guidelines and the students started to talk amongst themselves. Virgil thought something was wrong with the guidelines and decided to speak up about it.

“Excuse me, Mr. Sanders?”

“Yes, Virgil?”

“I know this project seems complex and all, but the guidelines say you’re giving us a whole semester to do it. This has to be wrong.”

“You know what, Virgil? I once thought I was wrong, but it turned out, I was mistaken.”

“What the f-” Virgil was, thankfully, cut off in his statement when Logan asked a question to Mr. Sanders.

“Excuse me, Mr. Sanders? Will you be assigning the groups?”

“I don’t know. Class, should I assign you groups, or trust your moral decisions?”

The class responded in unison with, “You can trust us, Mr. Sanders,” with a drowned out “I could care less what you do, my death is inevitable,” coming from Virgil.

“Well, then, I guess I will be assigning you groups!”

All the students moaned at his exclamation.

“Jessica, Brigette, Owen, and Megan, you are a group.”

Mr. Sanders continued to name off the groups until…

“And last but not least, Logan, Patton, Roman, and Virgil, you are a group.”  
Roman stood up when he heard who was in his group.

“What!?” Roman exclaimed.

“Oh, did you not hear me? I said Logan, Pa-”

“Trust me, I heard you! I just don’t want to be in a group with Panic! At The Everywhere and calculator watch over here.”

“I’m so excited to be in a group with you too, Princey,” Virgil sarcastically remarked.

“Oh please, Roman. If anyone should be upset, it should be me! It’s obvious that you three are my intellectual inferiors,” Logan added.

“Come on guys, I’m sure the project is going to be great!” Patton cheerfully said. Patton’s statement was disregarded, however, due to another one of Roman’s outbursts.

“Excuse me, Logan! I’ll have you know, that one time, I put together a puzzle in one day, and the box said 2-4 years on it!”

Virgil was the first to reply to Roman’s comment.

“...You idiot.”

“Well, I guess I’d take being smart idiot than a stupid genius any day!”

“Everyone, that’s enough!” The class went silent at Mr. Sanders words, “These are your groups, and that’s final. I’m going to give you all the rest of class to decide where you want to meet after school. I’ll be doing papers at my desk.”

Logan, Patton, Roman, and Virgil started to talk about where they should meet to discuss their project.

"Okay, where should we meet up, kiddos?" Patton asked.

"Kiddos?" Logan questioned. 

"Yeah, I call everyone kiddo."

"Are you our dad or something?" Virgil inquired.

And Patton said, "Only if you want me to be." In full seriousness.

There was an awkward pause.

"Oooookay then. Where should we meet up after school?" Roman asked.

"My parents are not home and I have healthy snacks of nutritional value to provide, therefore we will meet at my house. I will need all of your phone numbers to text you the address," Logan said.

Patton and Roman wrote their numbers down and handed them to Logan. Virgil, however, did not.

“Virgil, can I have your number?” 

Virgil's face turned red in embarrassment.

"I don't have a phone," Virgil mumbled.

"What was that, Doctor Gloom? I couldn't hear you over your dark presence," Roman said.

"I fail to see how that makes any sense," Logan reasoned.

"Whatever, nerd. So, what did you say, Virgil?"

"I said I don't have a phone, okay?!" Virgil covered his mouth, realizing he shouted at them, "I'm sorry."

"It is quite alright, Virgil. You do not have to feel bad over something out of your control. However, I want you to have this."

After saying this Logan handed him a phone. Virgil was in shock and didn’t react.

“Take it,” Logan offered.

“I-I c-can’t,” Virgil finally answered.

"It’s okay, Virgil, this is my backup, backup, backup phone."

"Your backup, backup, backup phone?" Roman questioned. 

"Yes, my parents gave three extra phones to keep me safe. It's not like they would care if I gave it away anyway. I mean, if they really wanted to keep me safe, they would actually come home once in a while."

"Aww, Logie! That's so sad!" As Patton said this, he wrapped his arms around Logan.

"Uh oh, feelings," Logan cleared his throat, "I mean thank you Patton, for the, uh, moral support."

"You're welcome, Logan!"

"Hey, Logan." Virgil said softly.

"Yes, Virgil?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Virgil. I will text you all my address in a group chat I will create."

The bell rang and everyone walked out of the classroom.  
Patton left the classroom confident in his group and exited to make 3 new friends with diverse personalities.  
Roman left the classroom still upset over who his group members were, but knew he could carry his group to victory.  
Virgil left the classroom anxious for what will come next in this hellhole of a group project.  
As for Logan, Logan left the classroom with a funny feeling. He felt... happy to be a part of something bigger than himself. Maybe this is what having friends is like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed! It only gets more interesting from here. Hold onto your hats folks, this is gonna be a bumpy ride!


	3. The Planning at Logan's House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The four students discuss what they want their topic to be about. We find out some new information about Virgil...

It was 3:55 p.m. and Logan was doing his last minute tidying around the house before his guests arrived.

Then the doorbell rang.

Logan quickly put away the broom he was using to clean and opened the door for his first guest.

“Good afternoon, Virgil. You are the first to arrive.”

“Ugh, I knew it! I shouldn’t have left so early. I was just so-”

“-Anxious? Yes, it would seem so. No need to worry about it, Virgil. Please, have a seat.”

Virgil sat on the coffee table that was in front of the TV.

“Why do you have to be so uptight all the time?”

“My parents taught me to be this way. I must be formal all the time. Also, don’t sit on the coffee table.”

“Why shouldn’t I? When tomorrow comes I will be faced with even more challenges, and I am too overwhelmed to be worrying about what is and is not a chair.”

“Yes, well… wait what?”

“It’s not like your parents are going to know how you behave when they’re not here, right?” 

“I suppose not. But you can never be too careful with my parents. One day I asked them if I could go to a party. They told me no. I tried to sneak out that night but they caught me because they put security cameras in my room.”

“Dude, that's messed up.”

“Quite, but it is what it is.”

At that moment the doorbell rang. It was Patton. He came at exactly 4:00 on the dot. 

“Hiya, Logan! Do you how do?”

“I'm am doing fine, Patton. Please, take a seat.”

“Okie dokie. Hi, Virgil!”

“Hey.”

“Now all we need is Roman.”

The three of them waited for twenty more minutes before Roman actually arrived. Logan opened the door to find an exhausted Roman, hair frayed, shoelaces untied, green slime stuck to his right hand, some red sauce on his arms, and covered in mozzarella cheese.

“Don’t ask.”

“Okay, we won’t,” Virgil replied while taking out his phone and getting a picture of Roman.

“You better not post that.”

“Relax, Princey. You’re just lucky I don’t have any friends. I’ll probably just use it for a good laugh once in a while.”

“Enough small talk. Roman, sit down anywhere you’d like.”

Logan got two towels from a nearby cupboard and handed them to Roman.

“Use one to wipe the goop off and the other to put on the chair you sit on.”

“Okay, but before we discuss, why is Virgil on the coffee table?”

“I would not like to explain my existential crisis over again.”

“Let’s just get started. Patton, could you read from the guidelines, please?” Logan asked.

“Sure! *Ahem* ‘History can be important to study to know important happenings from the past, but how can we keep studying if nothing more important happens? Your assignment is to do something creative, in a place you’ve never been to. It can be anything and anywhere your heart desires, as long as you make your mark. Your stories will be shared with the class, and classes to come, so choose your topics carefully. Have a fun time!’ Man, Mr. Sanders’ projects are always the best!”

“Well, what are we going to do?” Virgil questioned.

“Be quiet, I’m thinking,” Roman stated.

“Don’t worry, trying anything for the first time is hard,” Virgil said back.

“Ah hah, that’s it!” Logan exclaimed.

“And what is ‘it’, anyway?” Virgil said snarkily.

“Have you all heard about that cave on the news lately?”

“Yeah, Srednas Sedis Cave?”

“Oh, yeah! Is that cave the one on the news about some 8-year old boy claiming he saw a ghost?”

“A what?!” Virgil screamed.

"No need to get all worked up about it, sunshine."

"Logan, where is your bathroom?" Virgil asked, on the verge of a panic attack.

Logan, noticing Virgil's state replied, "down the hall, second door to the right."

Virgil went down the hall and entered the bathroom. He was having trouble breathing, so he tried some exercises to get himself to calm down. After he calmed down, he splashed water in his face and looked at himself in the mirror. He thought, ‘They can never find out what's in that cave. We can't go there. I made a promise. To myself and them.’ Virgil made his way back to the living room.

“You okay, kiddo?”

“Yeah, I just felt nauseous. So, what are we doing?”

“We’ll go to Srednas Sedis Cave. That is, if your okay with it, Virgil.”

“What? No, yeah, that’s cool.”

“Virgil. Are you sure?”

“Yes, Patton. I’m sure.”

“That’s extravagant! We should meet there at 5 o’clock on Friday after school to explore!” Roman said, extremely peppy for someone who looked like they came straight out of a lunchables box.

“Yes, Roman is correct in his statement. We should familiarize ourselves with the cave before just figuratively diving into the project. Especially if a spiritual happen-stance has been documented. Besides, we have a whole term to complete it.”  
“See everyone, at least I’m right about one thing.”

“You just admitted to being wrong at most things.”

“Oh shut up, nerdy wolverine!”

Suddenly, a beeping noise came from Patton’s watch.

“Sorry, guys. I need to get going, but I’ll see you all tomorrow. We should totally all sit together at lunch! I’ll tell Joan and Talyn. They’ll be so excited to meet you all! Okay, bye!” And with that, Patton was gone.

“I guess I’ll head out too.”

“Same here.”

“Goodbye, calculator watch and emo nightmare! See you two tomorrow.” And Roman was gone too.

“Well, bye Logan.” Virgil turned to leave.

“Virgil wait. Is something wrong? You seemed very upset before when we mentioned the cave.”

“Don’t worry about it Logan. Bye.” And there went Virgil.

And Logan was alone again.

Until Logan looked at his phone. And he smiled. There was a text from Virgil.

Virgil: See you tomorrow :)  
One image attached 

And along with the text, Virgil sent Logan the picture that he had taken of Roman.

Hmm,  
Maybe Logan finally had friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmmmmmm,  
what's up with Virgil?
> 
> Oh wait, I know, but you don't!
> 
> mwa ha ha ha *cough cough cough* ha ha ha


	4. WhAt HaPpEneD tO ROmAn?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we find out what happened to Roman that made him look the way he did when he arrived at Logan's house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready. In this chapter, hijinks ensue. (I never know what to put in the notes I'm sorry.)

Roman picked up his sisters after his last class of the day and walked them to the park. Every Monday, Roman took his sisters to the park after school. When they arrived at the park, Sierra and Rosa went to the monkey bars. Emma just went to a swing and sat down. And she didn’t even swing! Roman had had it! He was going to find out what was wrong with her. Roman walked over to the swings.

“So… swings, huh?” Roman had started the conversation.

“Yeah,” Emma replied, without even giving him a glance and stared down at the woodchips.

Roman sat down on a swing next to Emma.

“Listen, I’ve noticed you’ve been in kind of a mood lately, and-”

“I’m not in a mood!”

“...Yeah so, anyways, I just wanted to know why,” then he leaned in closer and whispered, “Is it that time of the month?”

This got Emma’s attention. As she looked up at Roman her face turned red.

“What?! No, ew, gross!”

“Oh, thank goodness,” then there was a pause, “So what’s wrong?”

Emma sighed. “So, you know that my class is separated into different social groups, right?”

“Ah, yes. The dreaded 7th grade. It’s the year that the clicks start to emerge. Which one are you in?”

“The b*tchy popular girls.”

“Really? I wouldn’t peg you as that type.”

“Actually, correction. I WAS one. And that’s why I’ve been so upset lately.”

“They shafted you?”

“Yup,” she popped the p, “and it was completely random too. Like, I have no idea what I did. Brittany just came up to me and was all like, ‘Emma, I feel really bad that you don’t really fit in in our group, so you should probably go. You should hang out with the math nerds. You’d fit in perfectly.’ But she said it so condescending like. Ugh, I hate her so much!”

“Listen, Emma. It’s for the best.”

“I know. It just… hurts.”

“I know it does. But now you can hang out with your old friends. Whatever happened to Gemma? I missed when she used to come over and we’d play fairytale.”

“I sort of… kind of… abandoned her last year.”

“You did what?!”

Emma kicked a piece of woodchip. “I feel so bad about it every single day. It eats me up inside. It’s just- Brittany invited me to hang out with her and the popular girls, and I just felt special to be a part of that and- you wouldn’t understand.”

Roman reached out and touched her shoulder. “Emmie, I absolutely do understand.”

“You? You’ve always been popular.”

“Not always. Remember Virgil?”

“Oh, yeah. Your ‘boyfriend’?”

“Shut up!” Roman and Emma shared a laugh. “But yeah, when I was accepted into the school football team as a starter, I kind of just… left him behind. Now I just constantly make fun of him with nicknames.” A pause. “Man, popularity really got to our heads, huh?”

“I guess so.”

Roman and Emma sat in a comfortable silence for a while.

“So, are you going to try out for the middle school musical this year?” Roman asked.

“Yes, are you going to try for the high school one?”

“Maybe. But the team would probably kill me.”

“Classic Troy Bolton. Speaking of which, I should probably let the director know I’m trying out for Gabriella.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Since I’m not in Brittany’s click anymore, I can try out for a lead without her kicking me out!”

“That’s the spirit, I think!”

They both stood up off the swings.

“Thanks for cheering me up, Ro.”

“You’re welcome. But maybe you should apologize to two certain people who love you very much.”

“You’re right.”

Roman and Emma walked over to Rosa and Sierra who were now hanging on the gymnastics bar.

“Sierra, Rosa. I’m sorry for treating you how I did. I was just angry and I took it out on you guys. I love you.”

Rosa and Sierra dropped off the bar. “Awww, sissy!” Rosa wrapped her arms tightly around Emma. “We love you too! Right, Sierra?”

“Yeah, yeah. I love you guys, or whatever.”

“Group hug!” Roman shouted.

“I don’t think necessary- okay we’re hugging now. Good job everyone.” Sierra said.

“Do you two want to play a game with us?” Rosa asked after the hug departed.

“Sure! Anything for my favorite youngest sister!” Emma said.

Rosa giggled. “Than- hey wait a minute! I’m your only youngest sister!” While she was saying this, Sierra snuck up behind her when she wasn’t looking.

“Tag! You’re it!” Sierra screamed while placing her hand on Rosa’s shoulder.

“Hey! No fair!” Rosa complained while trying to tag Sierra back.

The four of them lost track of time playing tag, hide-and-seek, and fairytale. Roman almost didn’t realize he was going to be late to Logan’s house. Almost.

“Oh shi-oot!-”

“Nice save.” Emma interrupted sarcastically.

“I have to get to my classmate’s house. Ugh, I’m gonna be late!”

“I’m sorry we made you late,” Rosa said with a pout on her face.

“Oh, no, Rosa, I didn’t mean it like that,” Then Roman continued, “Let’s go home now.”

He picked Rosa up on his shoulders and they all started walking out of the park.

When they arrived home, Roman dropped off his sisters at the house.

“Emma, I can trust you to take care of them, right?”

“Of course you can, besides mom will be back in an hour.”

“Thank you so much, Emma! I-”

“10 bucks, please.”

“What, why?”

“Because we wouldn’t want mom to know what happened last time you took care of us.”

“Okay, fine.”

Sierra entered the conversation, “You know Emma, we could probably get more out of him. Maybe secrets.”

“Sorry, gotta go, bye!”

Roman sprinted away only to be stopped by their next door neighbor’s son, who was about the same age as Sierra. (He totally ships it.)

“Hello, Roman.”

“Hiya, Little Ed.” Roman said while patting the boy on the head.

“I’m not little anymore. Can Sierra come out to play a game?”

“Okay one second,” Roman cleared his throat, “SIERRA?!” Roman shouted.

Sierra walked out of their house next door, “YEAH?! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!”

“COME OUT AND PLAY WITH ED!”

“FOR THE LAST TIME EDDIE, I SAID I DON’T LIKE YOU!” Then Sierra slammed the door behind her.

Roman looked back at Ed, “She totally likes you.”

“I know. Do you want to play a game?”

Roman looked at his watch, “I actually have to go to a classmate’s house right now. Sorry, Ed.”

“Come on. At least come look at my slime!”

“...Okay.” What? Roman couldn’t help it. It’s slime!

“Just wait here for one second.” Ed went inside his house to get his slime. He came out with a large tub of it.

“Whoa.”

“Put your hand in it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah!” Ed exclaimed. Roman stuck his hand in the green, mucus like slime. “Of course, I haven’t activated it yet.”

“What?! And you didn’t think of telling me that?!” Roman took his hand out, and the unactivated slime dripped on the ground.

“Not really, no.”

“Grr.” Roman looked at his watch again. “I’ve really gotta go now. Bye, Ed.”

Roman sprinted away once again. He wasn’t going to make it on time, but maybe he could make it just 10 minutes lat-

“Hey, you!”

“Oh you have got to be kidding me.”

“Nope!”

The man speaking to Roman looked about in his mid- 30s and dressed in an inflatable pizza costume.

“You are today’s lucky winner of becoming a human pizza!”

“Sorry, I didn’t sign up for thi-”

“First comes the sauce!”

“What sauce?”

Two buckets that Roman was unaware was over his head tipped and red sauce fell onto his arms.

“What are you doing?!” Roman shouted.

“What was that? Did you say ‘time for cheese’?”

“No!”

Another bucket over his head tipped and mozzarella cheese fell all over him.

“Stop!”

“Toppings you say?”

Roman quickly ran out of the way before a pile of mushrooms and pepperoni fell from another bucket. He decided to walk the rest of the way to conserve energy and think of non-stupid reasons to explain why he looked like that. He realized there was another park that he could walk through as a shortcut to Logan’s house. He was peacefully walking through when a girl approached him.

“I’m so sorry, Roman, this is a dare,” the girl said, sounding distressed.

Roman would recognize that voice from anywhere.

“Gemma? What’s going on?”

Gemma proceeded to untie Roman’s shoelaces, mess up his hair, and give him a little peck on the check.

“ON THE LIPS!” A girl from the group of girls Gemma came from shouted.

“I’m sorry,” Gemma whispered. She leaned over to Roman and stood on her tip-toes to give him a passionate kiss. She walked away back to the group of girls she was standing with before leaving Roman speechless.

Great. Now Roman has to tell his sister that her ex-best friend stole his first kiss. 

Roman shook this thought from his head and started to run again. He was going to be over twenty minutes late.

He finally arrived at Logan’s house. He rang the doorbell wondering what humiliation lies for him on the other side of the door.


	5. A Together Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton gets the gang together for lunch. But will it be as great as he hoped? Well, that's for me to write, and you to read.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I have to say about this chapter is... good luck, I guess?

Logan was upset that he had to go to lunch. He hates that everyday his learning must be interrupted by eating. If only humans didn’t need nutrients to survive. No matter, today he will actually have people to socialize with during his break, so he will have a suitable distraction.

Virgil was… nervous, to say the least. He had never sat with anyone at lunch until Roman came along. And before Roman abandoned him, the only other person who wanted to sit with him was- you know, there’s actually no use for Virgil to dwell in the past any more than he has to for now. He could worry about that later. Now he has to sit with Logan, Patton, Roman, and anyone they decide to invite. Virgil decided to text Patton to see where they would be sitting. He silently took out his phone, hoping not to wake up the Geography teacher Mrs. Bat, who had fallen asleep about twenty minutes ago. 

Virgil: Hey, do u no what table we’re gonna sit at?

Patton: Yeah, left side of the cafeteria second table farthest from the wall.

Virgil: ...What? 

Patton: When I see you walk in, I’ll wave.

Virgil: Kay.

Virgil put away his phone. One minute later the bell rang and Virgil went to find Patton.

Roman hated that Patton wanted their group to sit together at lunch today. He would have to sit with a bunch of outcasts when he could be with the football team. Well, as long as no one makes fun of him for it, he’ll be able to deal. Besides, he’ll be able to make amends with Virgil and at the same time have an excuse for hanging out with him. Perfect plan!

Patton was so excited to eat lunch with all of his friends! He just hopes his project friends are okay that Joan and Talyn are going to sit with them. Patton hasn’t exactly told them. Or Joan and Talyn. Huh he hasn’t really thought this through has he? Well, Patton is still going to make this a great lunch!

When Patton entered the cafeteria, he saw Joan and Talyn already at their normal table. He waved to them and they waved back. He walked over to the table and initiated conversation.

“Hiya, kiddos!”

Without looking up from their food they both replied at the same time, “Hey pop star.”

Patton gasped, “A dad themed nickname?! I love it!”

“We knew you would,” Talyn said.

“Hey, can I ask you guys something?”

“Of course,” Joan replied.

“I kind of invited my group members from history to come sit with me at lunch. Is it okay if-”

“Yes, Patton, they can sit with us.”

“Really?” They both nodded. “Thanks guys!”

As Patton said that, a lost looking Virgil walked into the cafeteria scanning his surroundings.

“There's one of them now!” Patton exclaimed and soon after, he stood up and waved to Virgil. 

Virgil walked over to them and sat down at their table. A minute later, the other two came.

“Okay time to get acquainted with one another,” Patton took a deep breath of air, “Virgil meet Joan, Logan meet Talyn, Roman meet Joan, Virgil meet Talyn, Logan meet Joan, Roman meet Talyn, Joan meet Virgil, Talyn meet Logan, Joan meet Roman, Talyn meet Virgil, Joan meet Logan, and Talyn meet Roman.”

Virgil, Logan, and Roman stared at Patton in disbelief while Joan and Talyn started clapping for Patton.

“How did he?” Roman questioned.

“Don't worry, he's done that before,” Joan answered.

“We think he's okay, but we're not so sure,” Talyn said.

“Oh, shut up!” Patton said while laughing.

This time Virgil entered the conversation, “Did Patton just say 'shut up'? Maybe he's not okay!”

Joan, Talyn, and Roman laughed at this. Then Roman replied, “Quick, someone check his temperature!”

At this point, everyone but Logan was laughing at these remarks. He said in a rather serious tone, “Why are you all laughing? If Patton is ill, we should take him to the nurse.”

Everyone continued to laugh after Logan's statement. Finally, Patton replied to Logan. He said, “Logan, they're all just kidding around.”

“I'm sorry to disagree, but your well-being is not a joke.”

“Roman meant his statement in a figurative regard, Logan, but I'm glad that you care about me!”

Logan face turned beet red at what Patton had said. Logan was about to say something in return but, thankfully, he was interrupted by someone calling out for Roman. Roman seemed to recognize that voice given what he said next.

“Ugh, what now?”

“Oh, Roman there you are! I got a message from Sierra, who got it from Rosa, who got it from mom, and now I'm telling it to you.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“Apparently, mom has to go on a business trip today and she's not coming back until after school tomorrow, so Sierra and Rosa are sleeping over at Abby's house, and you and I get to stay home until she comes back.”

“Okay, so basically, when we're leaving school and can't find Sierra or Rosa, this time we don't panic?”

“Bingo!” Emma turned to the table of people Roman was sitting at. She didn't recognize anyone he was sitting with from the football team, in fact, she didn't recognize anyone accept for- “Virgil! Hey Virgil!”

“Hey Emma. I haven't seen you in a while,” Virgil gave Emma a once over, “Gosh, you've gotten so tall! And developed a sense a fashion I see.”

Emma looked down at her clothes, “It's from Hot Topic.”

“I can tell.”

Emma took a look at the clock on the wall.

“I've gotta get to class. Bye, Roman,” Emma then turned to Virgil again, “And farewell my knight!”

Virgil responded, “Goodbye, princess! I will mourn your absence!”

Emma then left the cafeteria, chuckling to herself. She turned around at the doorway and Virgil gave her a small smile.

“So, Virgil, am I correct in assuming you knew Roman before this project started?” Logan inquired. 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Virgil stated.

“You know, Virgil, you could give me a second chance,” Roman said. 

At this point, Virgil got angry. He yelled, “You know, I really can’t. You know why? Even though I have the fear of loneliness that I bear through every day, the fear of you betraying me again outweighs that! The day you told me you were embarrassed of me made me afraid to trust anyone again!”

*Flashback to Freshman Year of High School*

Roman walked into the cafeteria with the members of the football team and picked up trays to get their food. They all sat down together at the ‘cool table’. 

The team began to talk amongst themselves until the star quarterback stood on the table and  
chanted to get the whole cafeteria’s attention.

He said, “Now that I’ve got everyone’s attention… I’d like to propose a toast.”

Suddenly, the lunch lady burst through the door. She exclaimed, “Does one of you have alcohol?! You all know you’ll get expelled for that! Does anyone even remember what happened to Ally Finkleburg?”

There was silence for about ten seconds. Then a random student shouted, “Who’s Ally Finkleburg?”

The lunch lady responded with a confident, “Exactly,” and left the room.

Everyone turned back to the quarterback and he continued to speak, “Anyways, I’d like everyone to give it up for Roman Prince! The first freshman to ever make the varsity team as a starter!”

Everyone started clapping. The quarterback sat back down and they all continued to eat. Roman was fitting in perfectly with the football players. Then Virgil walked up to their table.

“Excuse me?” Virgil started, “Can I h-have a word with Roman?” Virgil was obviously nervous in his statement.

The quarterback looked around the table at his team and said, “Is this guy serious?”

Another one said, “Roman, do you know this freak?”

“Listen kid, I don’t know how you think high school works, but I’ll let you know. We, are football jocks. You, are an emo freak. Our two groups, don’t converse,” Another one said.

“Let me just talk to him, guys,” Roman then walked over to Virgil.

“Hi Roman. I wanted to say congratulations for making the football team. I wish you luck to kick some baskets.”

Roman chuckled, “Thanks. Is that all you wanted to say?”

“Actually, I was wondering if we can still sit together at lunch? You said we could discuss which Steven Universe song is the best.”

Roman started laughing at that.

“What’s so funny?”

Roman stopped.

“Oh. You’re serious. Um, listen, I don’t think we should sit together anymore.”

“Why? Just because you’re on the football team now?”

“Yes? I mean, we’re in completely different social classes now.”

“So you’re just going to abandon me? That’s it, isn’t it? You’re just going to leave me alone?!” Virgil’s voice started to tremble at this point. 

“Woah. Relax, Virgil. It’s not like we were going to be friends forever. Stop being so whiny. And keep your voice down.”

“Why?!” Virgil shouted at him, on the verge of a breakdown.

Roman paused for a moment, wondering if he should say something he wouldn’t be able to take back, and then he blurted out, “Because you embarrass me!” 

After Roman said this, Virgil’s face turned into a mix of emotions. First anger, then confusion, then sadness. He looked into Roman’s eyes, as if searching for something, then sprinted out of the cafeteria not looking back.

*End of Flashback*

“Virgil, I had no idea that’s how you felt.”

“Yeah, because you didn’t care enough to ask!”

“Virgil! Wait I’m sorry!”

Virgil looked around the cafeteria and saw that everyone was staring at him. He started to cry and sprinted out of the cafeteria, and went to the same closet he hid in the first time Roman upset him.


	6. Will it?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter Patton and Talyn go to find Virgil, and Virgil shares more information about his past.

“I’m going to go try to find him,” Roman stood up.

Talyn then stood up and pushed Roman back into his seat, “It sounds like you’ve done enough,” They turned to Patton, “You and I are gonna find him, Pat.”

Patton nodded, “Okay.”

Talyn and Patton left the cafeteria to go find Virgil. While they were walking around the hallways, Talyn noticed that Patton looked upset.

“Patton? What’s wrong?”

Patton’s frown immediately turned into a smile, “What? Oh, nothing!”

“Patton, didn’t you talk about not repressing your feelings with your therapist?”

Patton’s eyes widened, “Shh! I don’t anyone knowing that I have a therapist!”

“Sorry. So, what are you worried about?”

“It’s just that I feel so bad. If I had known about Virgil and Roman’s past I would have never-”

Patton was interrupted by a sudden hug by Talyn, “Don’t you ever think that that was your fault. Okay? It’s not your fault that Roman did that to Virgil, and it’s not your fault Mr. Sanders put them in a group together, Okay?”

Patton nodded vigorously, “Yeah, okay.”

They walked down the hall a little longer in silence. 

“But just hear me out, wouldn’t things be better if you told other people besides just Joan and I about your depression?”

“No! As far as everyone else is concerned, I’m the cheeriest person in the class.”

Talyn placed their hand on Patton’s shoulder, “It doesn’t have to be that way.”

After Talyn had said that, they hear a sniffle coming from a closet nearby.

“The janitor’s closet!” They exclaimed at the same time.

Patton slowly opened the door to the closet and he and Talyn entered.

“Hey Virgil, how are you doing? Never mind that was probably a stupid question.”

Virgil bit back a snarky comment and just said, “Was Roman too much of a coward to talk to me himself? He sent you two?”

“No, no, no! That’s not it! We wouldn’t let him go! It’s not his fault!” Patton reasoned.

“Stop talking him up!” Talyn then turned to Virgil, “You have every right to be angry with him.”

“Yeah. In your story, he sounded like a real,” Patton hesitated, “b-hole.”

“That’s not the whole reason I’m sad. Angry?” Virgil shrugged, “Probably both.”

“It’s not?” Talyn asked.

“Well, that’s mostly it.”

“What else?” Patton asked.

More tears started to well in Virgil’s eyes.

“You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to-”

“No. I do,” Virgil paused, “When I was little my father and I were best friends. We did everything together. Then one day, when I was nine years old, he just left. I didn’t know why he left. For years, all I did was blame myself. My mom and I were devastated, but we tried to move on. Then, around this time last year, he came back. Out of the blue, no explanation. My mom wanted to turn him away, but I told her not to. Because I wanted him back so bad. But, he wasn’t the same dad I had grown up with. And now my parents fight constantly, everyday. Which is exactly the reason why I don’t trust Roman. Because, even though he still wants to be my friend-”

“You don’t think he’ll be the same,” Patton finished.

“Exactly.”

“Do you still want him back?” Talyn asked.

“More than you could know.”

“Maybe you should give him another chance?” Patton suggested.

“Give me one good reason why I should.”

“Because now you have us to back you up,” Talyn extended their arm out to Virgil and then Patton did the same. Virgil grabbed their hands and they pulled him up to envelop him in a hug.

Virgil laughed, “You guys suck.”

“We love you too, Virgil,” Patton replied.

The bell then rang.

“Come on, Virgil. You and I have pre-calc with Ms. Taft,” Patton said.

“M’kay.”

Patton and Virgil parted ways with Talyn and headed to pre-calc.

“Okay class, turn to page two-hundred and three.”

Virgil wasn’t paying attention anymore. He thought math was a waste of time. He started drawing in his math notebook. Virgil then felt vibrating in his pocket. He silently took out his phone to see a text from Patton. They ended up texting for the rest of class.

Patton: Whatcha drawing?

Patton: Nvm, I saw it. It’s amazing bt-dubs. One question. Why is it of Roman?

Virgil: Well, his seat is a perfect angle from here.

Patton: But there’s more than just his seat in that area.

Virgil: …

Patton: Is there something you’re not telling me?

Virgil: … Maybe?

Patton: Is it about Roman?

Virgil: Maybe?

Patton: Do you like like him?

Virgil: Maybe. 

Virgil: I mean I’m still really upset with him, but I guess that doesn’t change how I feel about him.

Patton: Wait, so did you like him before the day he abandoned you?

Virgil: Yeah. The worst part is, I was going to tell him how I felt about him that day. After that, I thought it was pretty clear what my status with him was.

Patton: Ugh! That is horrible timing!

Virgil: Eh, it was for the best.

Patton: I guess ur right.

Virgil: A part of me really wants to be with him and wants what’s best for him, while another part of me loathes him for doing what he did to me.

Virgil: But both parts still want what’s best for me.

Patton: Wow. That’s confusing.

Virgil: Yeah. I mean say, hypothetically, that Roman likes me back. What would I do?

Patton: Do what you think is right. I can’t tell you that for you, kiddo.

Virgil: Ugh, why do you have to be right?!

Patton: Because that’s how it is. But Virgil, just know that everything from now on will get better.

Virgil: Will it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now you all know one of the ships. You're welcome.


	7. Getting in Deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton and Virgil have another heart-to-heart. Virgil finds out some interesting information about Patton's dad.

The bell rang signaling the end of pre-calc.

“Goodbye class, you have no homework from me today. We will continue this lesson tomorrow. Mr. Hart and Mr. Storm please stay.”

Once everyone left, Ms. Taft shut the door and walked over to the desks that Patton and Virgil were sitting at.

“Don’t think I didn’t see that you two were on your phones.”

“Ms. Taft, we’re so sorry. We didn’t mean to-”

“Patton, please. You two are my most well behaved students, I’m sure you had a reason. But I also want you to set an example for the rest of the class, so don’t let it happen again.”

“We won’t Ms. Taft!”

“Good. Now go to your next class.”

Patton and Virgil walked out in the hallway.

“That was scary! I’ve never been in trouble before.”

“Of course you haven’t.”

“What about you? It sounds like you haven’t either. You know, under that rough exterior, you’re a real softie. And you’re cute too! Yes, you are!” Patton ruffled Virgil’s hair.

“No. Stop. I am not cute. Recognize my power!”

Patton laughed at that. Then he asked, “Are you okay?”

Virgil debated his next words, “Eh, I feel better. What about you?”

Patton chuckled, “What about me?”

“I, um, heard you and Talyn outside the closet door before you came in. Sorry.”

“Oh,” Patton facial expression dropped, “Um, yeah. I’m okay. Well, at least, I’m working at it.”

“That’s good. Hey, um, just so you know, I’ve been seeing a therapist too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, his name is Dr. Picani but he likes for me to call him-”

“Emile?”

“Yeah. Is he your therapist too?”

“No. he can’t be.”

“Why?”

“Because his full name is Emile Picani-Hart. And he didn’t want me to have him as a therapist.”

“Oh! Because he’s your father! Oh! Oh. Ooooh,” A look of realization struck Virgil’s face, “Your dad is my therapist.”

“Don’t worry! He’s the greatest ever!”

“I know he is. I’m actually meeting with him today.”

“...It’s not going to be weird for you now that you know that, right?”

“No. At least I don’t think it will be.” 

“That’s good.”

Then there was a buzzing noise that came from both Patton and Virgil’s pockets.

Patton took out his phone, “Oh, it’s a text from the chat!”

“What does it say?”

Logan: Greetings everyone. I was wondering if we could change the day we explore the cave. I know we decided Thursday, but I have plans then.

Logan: Of course, it’s probably for the best, considering the conflict today.

Logan: Would it be possible to move the date to Saturday?

“Are you okay with that Virgil?”

“Yeah, Saturday’s cool.”

“Okay.”

Patton: Me and Virgil are both good with Saturday.

Logan: *Virgil and I

Patton: Thanks, Logan. Good catch!

Roman: Really? Pat, if I were u that nerd would be shipped halfway to Europe by now.

Logan: Ha ha, very funny Roman.

Roman: I know.

Roman: Also, Patton, if Virgil is trying to ignore me, can you tell him that I’m sorry and that I really missed him?

Patton: Sure, but your going to have to tell him in person too.

Roman: I know.

“Virgil, Roman says that he’s sorry and he really misses you.”

Virgil bit his lip and blushed, “He d-did?”

“Aww, you’re even cuter when you’re flustered!”

“S-shut up!”

The bell rang again to get to the next period.

“Bye Virgil! We should all have lunch again sometime.”

“Yeah. I guess we could,” He turned in the opposite direction but stopped in his tracks, “Hey Patton?”

“Yeah kiddo?”

“I kind of want to tell you a joke about pizza,” at this point Virgil turned his head around so he could see Patton’s reaction, “but it’s a little cheesy.”

Once Virgil saw the look of awe on Patton’s face, he turned his head back around and walked to class.

*5 hours later*

Virgil walked down the hall and opened the first door to his right. He sat down on the couch and anxiously waited for Emile to arrive.

“Hello Virgil! Do you how do?”

“I have never known how to respond to that, and still don't.”

“Okay, so let's get down to business,” Emile said as he took a seat opposite Virgil. 

Then Emile's face grew very serious. He said, “Did you watch the premiere of Steven Universe Future?”

Virgil looked offended when Emile asked him that. “Of course I did. What do you take me for?”

“Thank goodness. So what did you think?”

“My favorite part was definitely the fight with Jasper in 'Little Homeschool'.”

“Yes, I loved that! My favorite part, though, would have to be when you-know-who and you-know-who fused!”

“Why aren’t you saying they're names? I watched all the episodes."

“But what if there are readers who are Steven Universe fans and they haven't seen the episodes yet?”

“Readers?”

“Oh shoot I broke the fourth wall. I mean, what?”

“What?”

“Anyway Virgil, what's going on? Any news? Gossip? Newsip?”

“Oh look, you created a new word.”

“It's a talent.”

“So,” Virgil looked down at his feet and bit his lip, “did I ever tell you about Roman?”

“Yeah, your ex-best friend slash bully slash secret crush?”

“Gosh, I must talk about him a lot. But yeah, all of those. Except it's not really a secret anymore. I told someone.”

“Who was it?” Emile asked as he started to take a drink of water from his bottle.

“Your son.”

Emile did a spit take onto his notepad and then started to cough.

“Are you okay?”

“*cough cough wheeze* Just peachy,” Emile took a second to compose himself, “I didn't know you were friends with Patton.”

“He wasn't until yesterday.”

“I think you two are really similar actually.”

“How so? His attitude is always so positive and mine isn’t. No matter how hard I try. He wears glasses and I don’t. He has curly blond hair, I have straight black hair.”

“I was thinking more of that you both worry too much even though you both try your best at everything and succeed at almost everything. Virgil, I think you are an amazing, wonderful, intelligent young man. Believe in yourself. I know you can’t do it on command, but over time I hope you will be able to see the Virgil that I do.”

“Thanks Emile. I’m sure I’ll be able to believe you at some point.”

“I’ve definitely seen a lot of improvement from you lately.” 

“That’s good I guess.”

“It’s great.”

“I don’t have anything meaningful to follow up with now!”

Emile chuckled, “Why don’t we play a couple rounds of Jenga before you have to leave?”

“Yes! I love Jenga!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took me longer to write this week. Thank you all so much for reading!


	8. Logan's Banishment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chapter in which we meet Logan's parents for the first time, and Roman lends Logan and hand in his time of need.

*Saturday morning*

Logan awoke to the sound of his alarm. He groggily reached to his bed stand and slammed the button on his digital clock. He turned to see what time it was and he could’ve sworn he saw six o’clock. He rubbed his eyes and reached over for his glasses. He put them on, and to his surprise, it was indeed six.

“What? I put on my alarm for eight.”

“Yes, Logan, but what was it that I told before you started high school?”

Logan l sat up on his bed and couldn’t believe his eyes. His mother was standing right there, towering over him. She was a very tall, skinny woman. She had brunette hair gelled back perfectly into a bun. She had laser focused, deep brown eyes with glasses, and had the power to intimidate anyone with a single glance.

“Good morning, ma’am.”

“Answer the question.”

Logan sighed internally, “Wake up at five on weekdays and six on weekends.”

“Yes, that is what I said isn’t it? But you set your alarm for eight!”

“It won’t happen again, ma’am.”

Logan’s mother started to pace around Logan’s room, “Logan, the reason we came home, is because we’ve noticed that you’ve been out of line lately.”

Logan opened his mouth to speak, but his mother kept talking.

“Why do you come home later on some days? Don’t tell me you’re making friends.”

Logan stood up, “Of course not, Mother. I just have a group project I’m working on with other students.”

Logan’s mother looked up and down at his son. She said, “Were you always this tall?”

“No mother, all living beings have the capability to grow and change.” Logan replied condescendingly. He regretted it almost immediately.

“What did you just say to me!?”

“I’m sorry ma’am.”

“No. You’re not. I must be a horrible mother if I raised you to be like this.” 

She stormed out of Logan’s room and went downstairs.

“No. You didn’t raise me at all,” Logan muttered under his breath.

Logan got ready for the day and then walked downstairs. When he arrived downstairs, he found his mother sitting on the couch, reading what looked like a six-hundred page novel, and his father reading the newspaper at the kitchen table. Logan was still processing the information that his parents were actually at his house.

“Morning, Logan.”

Logan’s father is a rather short, chubby man. He has a full head of black hair. He may not look scary, but when you get to know him, he is.

“Good morning, father.”

“What are you making?”

“Pardon?”

“For breakfast.”

“Oh. Um, I was going to make a batch of blueberry muffins.”

“Oh, splendid!”

Once the muffins were made, Logan passed them to his mother and father. It was silent for about a minute until Logan’s mother started to speak.

“So, Logan, how have classes been this week?”

“Good. I received an A- on my English term paper.”

“A-! Well, due to your incompetence, we are going to have a very embarrassing discussion with with teacher next time we come back.”

Logan cringed on the inside. He hated it when his mother did that. By discussion, she means barging in the classroom during class, and yelling at the teacher in front of everyone. He tried not to think about that and just said-

“Next time?”

“Yes, we’re leaving again tonight.”

Logan frowned. Even though his parents were unsympathetic and intrusive, he misses them a lot.

Suddenly, a feeling of rage burst through Logan and he screamed.

“WHAT! You guys think you can just do that!?”

“Excuse me, young man! Do not use that ton-”

“Years after years, you two have left me alone! I had to learn to cook, clean, and do taxes! What kid does their parent’s taxes?!”

“Now Logan-” 

“NO! Father, let me talk, for once! Do you know the pain I’ve gone through, every time you’ve left! Every time you guys come back, I hope that you’re here to stay, but you never are! And whenever you do come back, you never say ‘I love you’ or ‘I miss you’, it’s always ‘Have you done this right?’ or ‘What did you do wrong?’. HAVE YOU GUYS EVER THOUGHT THAT I MIGHT HAVE FEELINGS?!”

“...Get out, Logan,” Logan’s mother said in a surprisingly calm voice.

“Wait, what? Did you not hear what I just said?”

“Logan, GET OUT!”

Logan was shocked at what his mother yelled at him, but reluctantly complied. When he reached the door, he slammed it behind him. He started to walk down the sidewalk. His phone started to ring.

“Great. What now?”

Logan picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hello, calculator watch.”

“What do you want, Roman?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to come back to my house. I’m in the car across the street. I was on my way back from the grocery story on this side of town, you know, Pause & Buy? Anyways, I pulled over when I saw you storm out of your house.”

“Are you positive I would be welcome?”

“Of course!”

“Okay I’m crossing the street now.”

*At Roman’s House*

“Thank you for inviting me, Roman, it is deeply appreciated.”

“You’re welcome, Logan. You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but what happened?”

“Would it be alright if I kept that information classified?”

“Definitely. I was just wondering, but you don’t have to answer. Sorry.”

“It’s alright, Roman.”

Suddenly, an inhumane screeching noise came from one of the house’s bedrooms.

Logan held his ears, “What was that?!”

“Emma! Are you okay?” Roman started to sprint towards Emma’s bedroom. When he reached her bedroom door, the door was flung open into Roman’s face. He cried out in pain.

“Roman! Roman where are you, I have good news!”

“Certainly not what you did to my face!”

Emma gasped. Then she smiled, “No, that’s just a bonus.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Emma laughed, “But seriously let’s get you an ice pack.”

“Wait,” Roman stopped Emma from walking any further, “What’s the good news?”

“Oh, right, guess who got Gabriella Montez in the middle school’s production of High School Musical?”

Roman gasped, “Was it Brittany?”

“No, jerkface! It was me!”

Roman chuckled, “I’m so proud of you Emmie.”

“I know you are, Ro,” They shared a warm embrace, “Now let’s get you that ice pack.”

The two of them walked into the kitchen. Emma filled a plastic bag with ice and handed it to Roman, who put it on his face. Logan then walked into the kitchen from the living room.

“Roman, is your sister okay?”

“Yeah, she’s right here.”

“Oh, hello! Your name is Emma, correct?”

“And whom would like to know?” Emma turned around from the refrigerator that she was facing and looked up at Logan. She immediately became flustered, “Oh, u-um hi? I mean, hi Emma is name my. I mean, reverse that!”

“My name is Logan. By the way young lady, that was an excellent usage of the word whom. Most would say who in that situation.”

“She is very smart for her age.”

Logan murmured a sound of agreement, then said, “She seems like she would be.”

Emma blushed and replied, “T-thank you, Logan,” Then she ran back to her bedroom.

Roman turned back to Logan, “Well, you can do whatever you want until it’s time to go.”

“Okay. Thank you, Roman.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Logan started to walk away to a different part of the household, but then a compelling question entered his mind that he wanted to ask Roman. He turned around.

“Roman?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you so nice to me now, but at school, you constantly pick on me?”

Roman hesitated.

“Is it because you don’t want to be seen as ‘lame’?”

“I mean, I know it’s wrong, but yeah. I’ve been trying to work on it.”

Logan smiled, “I believe you,” He paused, “That’s what happened with Virgil, right?”

“Yeah, basically,” Roman frowned.

“Look, if it makes you feel slightly better, since my parents don’t let me have friends, I mostly just study other people’s personalities.”

“You having a lonely life is supposed to make me feel better?”

“What? No?! It’s just that, I’ve studied Virgil’s personality probably more than anyone else’s in the school because for the longest time he eluded me. But getting to know him was the final piece. I now understand him. Roman, don’t worry, he will forgive you. I’m certain.”

“Thanks. That did make me feel better.”

“I’m glad. Now get ready to mentally prepare yourself. Because in a couple of hours, we will be at the mercy of Srednas Sedis cave.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready because next chapter, we enter the cave!


	9. Virgil's Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil enters the cave. Nuff said.

It was 11’oclock on a rainy Saturday morning, the time all four of the group members arrived at Srednas Sedis Cave. Well, not all of them.

“Where is Virgil? In the text I sent yesterday, I specifically wrote that we should meet here at 11 a.m. sharp!” Logan stated angrily.

“Maybe he’s chickening out. I would too if if didn’t know this project is our entire grade for history this semester.” Roman said, matter-of-factly.

“What if we explore without him, just for today?” Patton suggested.

“Okay, who wants to go first?”

All three of them were quiet. They stood in front of the cave, looking into its dark interior. 

“...I nominate Roman!” Patton exclaimed.

“I second that nomination.” Logan said as he pushed Roman into the entrance of the cave.

Roman stumbled as he attempted not to enter the cave and ran back behind the other two.

“Nope! Nuh, uh! No way! I am not going into that alone!”

“What? Is Roman afraid?”

All three of them turned around to see Virgil, standing on top of a rock in the shadows behind them. He had black war paint on his cheeks and wore sunglasses on his forehead and a utility belt around his waist with only flashlights on it. Virgil jumped down from the rock he was standing on and posed with his arms crossed against his chest and flipped his sunglasses back over his eyes.

Roman blushed, “No. I just don’t want to be eaten alive by a ghost today.”

“Well, you guys can just stay out here. I’m going in.”

“Yeah, right. You? Dr. Anxiety?”

“Wow, Roman. That nickname was your worst.” Virgil commented.

“Even I have to admit Roman, that one was not good.” Patton agreed.

“I guess I’m just not feeling my glittery self today.”

Virgil walked in front of the three of them.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye. If something happens to me, tell everyone my story. And tell my parents I love them and forgive them for always arguing, and tell Roman’s football friends to suck it!”

Logan rubbed the temples on his head, “Virgil, you’re not going to die.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Patton and Roman said at the same time.

“You don’t know that.”

“Well, I do know not to trust a random 9-year old that claimed to find a ghost.”

“HA! Joke’s on you! The reports have said he was 8!”

“Yes, Virgil. The joke is on me.”

“Yes, I knew you would admit defeat.”

“I was being sarcastic.”

“Really? Sorry, It’s just that you always have the same, annoying, monotone voice.”

“What voice?”

“That’s the one.”

“Virgil, you are insufferable!”

“Don’t worry, Virgil, he says that to me on a daily basis,” Roman pointed out.

“Thank you, Roman. That makes me feel so much better,” Virgil cleared his throat, “Okay everyone, hopefully this isn’t the last time I will see you all, but in case it is, I would still like to say some parting words.”

Virgil walked over to Patton, “Patton, thank you for always being kind to me even though I’m a freak.”

“Virgil. Don’t you dare say that about my best friend or I will physically fight you,” Patton said as he enveloped Virgil into a hug.

Virgil then turned to Logan, “Logan, you are a nerd. But you’re our nerd.” Virgil wrapped his arms around Logan.

“What is this? Is this what human contact is supposed to feel like?”

“Yes, Logan. This is called a hug. It’s a show of human affection.”

“Really? Fascinating!”

“Logan, have you never been hugged before?” Patton asked.

“No. I suppose I have not.”

“Well, we’ll have to change that won’t we. Remind me to hug you more often. Okay?”

Logan shook off the blush he felt rising to his cheeks, “Okay.”

Then Virgil turned to Roman, “And last but not least, Roman,” Virgil saw out of the corner of his eye that Patton made a thumbs-up to him and Virgil gave him a small nod in return. He continued, “From now on, if I survive that is-”

Logan grunted, “You’re going to survive! Urgh! You know what? I give up. Continue.”

“Roman, I want you to know that from now on, if you don’t want a sarcastic answer from me, don’t ask a stupid question.”

“Those are your final words to him?” Patton piped up.

“Yep! Goodbye everyone,” Virgil said. Then he entered into the darkness of the cave.

Once Virgil was gone Logan asked, “It is a rainy day, why is he wearing sunglasses?”

*Inside the cave*

Virgil looked at his surroundings. It was a very damp but spacious area. Drops of water fell from the roof of the cave. It was extremely dark, so Virgil took a flashlight off of his utility belt and turned it on. The cave looked a bit different to Virgil since the last time he was there. He supposed it was just erosion, or maybe his memory was failing him. The farther Virgil walked, the more frustrated he would become.

“I know you’re there E! Stop trying to avoid this conversation!” Virgil shouted into the darkness, hoping for a reply, “I’m not leaving here until I get answers!”

Virgil sat down in the spot he was previously standing and just waited for something to happen. After a couple minutes had passed, Virgil was beginning to think he was just imagining things. 

Then there was a voice.

“Were you followed?”

“No. It’s just me. Show yourself, E.”

“How do I know you’re not lying? Just the other day I made friends with a little boy, but then he and his parents called the cops on me. They almost found me! I could have been reported!”

“You kind of were.”

“What?!”

“There was a story in the news that an 8-year old boy said he found a ghost in this cave.”

“I’m doomed.”

“Don’t worry. No one took him seriously.”

“Thank goodness.”

The conversation stopped for a couple seconds. Virgil couldn’t take it.

“Come out here! Face to face.”

The shadowy, ghost-like figure creeped down to form the shape and features of the human body.

“Elliot, what are you still doing here?!”

“Right. About that. I messed up.”

“What! How did you mess up?! You left, I saw you!”

“I thought I had closure after we made up, but I didn’t. I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving the earth without being able to keep one single friend. After I saw you leave I came back. I tried to make other friends, but I couldn’t. None of them were as understanding as you were.”

“If you think you can flatter me into doing that ritual again-”

“No! I just want to be friends again! I want closure!”

“You think you can be friends with me after what you did-”

“I did it to protect you!”

“You did not think that possessing Roman was protecting me. You just did that for yourself.”

“I did it because I knew that he would leave you. And was I right?”

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that what you did was wrong.”

“Oh, so you’ll forgive Roman for what he did to you, because he’s your crush, but when it comes to me, you won’t.”

“I haven’t forgiven Roman.”

“Really? Well it sure doesn’t look like it.”

“Well- wait. Have you been spying on me?”

“Maybe?”

“I can’t believe it. I was actually ready to cave in and tell you that I felt like a horrible person and friend to you. But I guess it goes both ways.”

Virgil turned around to walk towards the exit of the cave.

“Virgil wait! I’m sorry! Come back!”

“I will. Another day with my group members. We were going to do our history project here, but I thought that you would still be here because you know, the news report, so I convinced them to let me come in first. Because even though you betrayed me, I made a promise to you, and myself, to always protect you. But now, we’re going to do our project here, whether you like it or not, and we’ll be ready for anything you throw our way.”

Virgil sprinted away after he said this. He heard some kind of muffled protest that he couldn’t make out, now that he was too far away. He made a sigh of relief as he saw a ray of sunlight creeping into the cave, for he knew he would make it out alive and well.

*Outside the cave*

Everyone was anxiously awaiting for Virgil’s return.

Patton checked his watch for what seemed like the tenth time in the past three minutes.

“Guys, do you think he’s okay?” Patton asked, in a worrying tone.

“Don’t look at me, I don’t know. Logan, can you tell us a fact about caves that may have something to do with why he’s taking this long?”

“I actually don’t know what could cause his temporary disappearance.”

“That’s it, I’m calling the police,” Patton said.

Just then, Virgil came sprinting out of the cave, almost completely out of breath.

“Virgil, are you okay?!” Patton asked/shouted at Virgil.

Virgil waited a couple seconds to compose himself before answering, “Yeah, now that I’m out of there, I am.”

“You are not physically damaged in any way, correct?” 

“No Logan, I’m fine.”

“What even happened in there? You know what? I don’t want to know. Let’s just pick another topic, and move on,” Roman negotiated. 

“No,” Virgil blatantly replied.

“What do you mean no? You were just chased out of there by- by something! We don’t even know what! And you want to go back in there?! For a longer period of time?! With us?!”

“Yes. And you’re wrong about one thing Roman. I know what they are. And I know their weaknesses. And you guys are going to trust me, and we’re going to ace this project. Understood?”

“But-”

“Please Roman? For me?”

“Fine. But if we die just know that will be on your conscience.”

“We’re all on deck, right?”

Patton nodded.

“Good. Logan?”

“Yes. I am interested in what the future may hold,” Logan responded.

“Great. Let’s make this the most bad*ss project we’ve done in our lives.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays Everyone! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I certainly enjoyed writing it!


	10. Author's Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't get too excited, it's just an author's note. Unless you like author's notes for some reason, I can't control your opinions. You do you.

Hello you people out there reading this right now,

I know why you are all here reading this right now, but you don't know why I wrote this so let's cut to the chase.

Thank you people out there who read and (hopefully) enjoy this fic! I have had a great time writing this and had an idea that I wanted to run by you all.

Now that I wrote the chapter about finding Elliot in the cave, I'm assuming everyone is confused with their backstory. Well, my idea is to provide said backstory via flashbacks at the beginning of each chapter. The flashbacks will sort of be like an intro to each chapter. Each flashback will probably have something to do with the plot of each chapter. And if it doesn't... whoops! Also, the flashbacks don't have to be just about Elliot and Virgil so, if it relates to the chapter, the flashback might not be related to the whole Elliot/Virgil friends turned enemies plot line.

If you like this idea let me know in the comments! Or if you are reading this by the time the next couple chapters are already posted, you're too late. Sorry. (Don't feel bad I'm literally late to everything XD)

Thanks, Everyone!


	11. For the Greater Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We’re really doing this, huh?” Patton asked guiltily.
> 
> “Patton,” Roman paused dramatically, “It’s for the greater good.”

*Virgil’s first day of middle school*

Virgil was happy. He had recently dyed the tips of his hair purple over the summer. He was so glad to finally be able to express himself. He was surprised that his mom even let him, considering she's been so overprotective lately. But she did tell him that he would ‘regret his decision later in life’. Psh, whatever that means. Anyway, he walked into the auditorium where the principal would tell the new 6th grade class how their schedule would be. Virgil made sure to pay attention to the principal so he wouldn't get lost… until she started to talk about safety precautions that they learned back in kindergarten. Then he blocked her out. He just stood there looking over the bodies of the students in his class. Some he recognized, some he didn't. Then, out of nowhere, his bully from last year, Ethan, pushed him to the ground.

"Hey pip-squeak, have a nice summer? Don't worry, I'll make the rest of the year hell for you."

"Ethan. Finally ready to admit that your cold-blooded?"

Ethan ignored Virgil's question and walked in front of him.

"Hah! Purple hair. You're so weak!"

Virgil stood up.

"No. I'm not."

"Yes, you are! You're a weak, stupid, naive boy with pathetic purple hair. Do everyone a favor, and get the hell out of here!" Ethan said as he pushed Virgil to the ground again.

Now, Virgil was crying. Not from sadness. But from anger and frustration. He stormed out of the auditorium and went to the janitor’s closet. He always goes there when he’s upset or angry. Maybe this could be his place. He thought so, at least until he heard a noise.

“H-helllo? Who’s there?” Virgil asked in a trembling voice.

A figure emerged from the shadows. It looked… scared.

“Sorry, I didn’t think anyone would be in here.”

“It’s okay. You don’t need to be afraid, I’m not mean. What are you? Who are you?”

“I’m your friendly neighborhood ghost. Emphasis on the friendly. My name’s Elliot. They/Them pronouns.” Elliot stuck out their transparent hand.

Virgil reluctantly stuck his hand out. He reached for the hand that he could see, but couldn’t feel.

“Sorry. You can’t actually touch it.”

“It’s okay. I’m Virgil. He/Him pronouns.”

“Hey, are you okay? You look like you’ve been crying.”

Virgil touched his face and felt that it was wet.

“Yeah. There was a kid who made fun of my hair.”

“What’s wrong with your hair?"

"I dyed some of it purple."

"What's wrong with that?"

Once Elliot had said that, Virgil felt warm inside. It felt nice to finally be accepted. 

"Can we be friends?"

"No."

Virgil's expression dropped. "Why not?"

"Because I want you to be my best friend!"

Then, Virgil smiled the biggest smile he's ever smiled.

"Will you?"

"Yes!"

______________________________

*Monday*

Virgil looked into the complexity of the mirror. He almost didn’t recognize himself. He dyed his hair purple again, but this time, he did his full head. It wasn't permanent, but he still enjoyed being able to express himself again. He was just worried about anyone making fun of him like last time. Elliot was the only one who accepted him. And now they weren't even his friend anymore. At least he has new friends now. *Ding!* Speaking of friends,

Patton: Hiya, kiddo! When am I picking you up?

When Patton found out Virgil walked to school everyday and he lived halfway across town, he just wouldn't have that!

Virgil: You can pick me up whenever. I've been ready for 2 hours.

It was 7:30.

Patton: When did you wake up?

Virgil: 4:30

Patton: What time did you fall asleep?

Virgil: I didn’t?

Patton: TAKE CARE OF YO’ SELF!!! I’M GIVING YOU A HUG AS SOON AS I GET TO YOUR HOUSE!

Virgil: Which is…

Patton: 5 minutes. Get ready for the biggest hug of your life.

Virgil: i’m looking forward to it, Pat.

Patton: You better be. Btw, my dad will be driving because, even though I have a license now, I do not trust myself to drive with others in the car.

Virgil: Kay.

Virgil put his phone away, pulled his hood up, picked up his backpack, and started to walk outside on his driveway. Until he was stopped.

“Virgil, come back here!”

Virgil slowly turned around.

“Yeah, mom?”

“Where are you going?!”

“To school?” 

“Not before saying goodbye to your father and I! Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’ve been avoiding us lately.”

Virgil’s father then entered the room.

“Just let the kid go to school, Beverly.”

“No! I feel like I haven’t seen our little Virge since forever ago.”

“Yeah, that’s because he doesn’t like us! And for good reason.”

“That’s preposterous! He loves us! Right, Virge?”

Virgil opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by his mother again.

“See, Norman? He loves us!”

“How would I know if that’s true? You answered for him!”

His parents then spiraled into a full-blown out argument. Virgil saw this as his chance to escape. He snuck outside and saw a sky blue minivan in his driveway. He saw Patton sitting in the passenger seat, waving at him. Virgil walked over to the minivan and Patton opened the back door for him. Virgil sat down inside the van.

“Hey, Virgil!”

“Hi, Patton. Hello, Emile.”

The three of them sat in an awkward silence for some time.

“So, Virge! Have a good weekend?”

“Eh, it was pretty… uneventful.”

Patton looked back at Virgil with confusion but Virgil just mouthed ‘go with it’ to him in response. Patton nodded in understanding.

“Well, it’s good to have those kind of days sometimes.”

“Yeah, I guess. Bye the way, thanks for doing this for me.”

“No problem, kiddo!” Patton and his dad replied in unison.

Virgil snorted, “Like father like son, I guess.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment!” Patton said.

“Yeah, Emile is an awesome therapist.”

“Aw, shucks, Virge.”

“Yeah, I wish you could be mine,” Patton continued.

“But that doesn’t stop you,” Emile chuckled, “Pat, you tell me about almost everything, anyway.”

“Oh, really?” Virgil asked, mischievously curious.

Patton heard the tone in Virgil’s voice, but didn’t know where this conversation was going.

Emile started to respond, “Oh, yeah. School, friends, schedules, crushes-”

Virgil cut him off.

“Crushes, you say?” Virgil inquired.

Patton’s eyes widened and he felt his face grow warm. He needed to stop this.

“Oh-ho-ho-kay, Dad! You can stop talking now!”

“Now now, Patton. You should let your father finish.” Virgil replied.

Patton sunk down in his seat and hid his face in his palms.

“So, crushes you say?”

“Well, yes. Right now, well, as of last week that is, Patton just couldn’t stop talking about-”

“LOOK! WE’RE HERE! AT SCHOOL! WE MADE IT!” Patton basically screamed at his father as they pulled into the parking lot of the school.

“Yes, Patton. We are at school. You get a gold star,” Emile said to Patton as he patted him on the head.

Patton grumbled as he opened the car door.

"Bye, Dad."

"Have a good day you two!"

"We will. Thanks, Emile."

And with that, the two boys were off to school. Of course, they talked as they walked towards the school pass the time like teenagers do. 

"So, wonderful day we're having?"

"It's forecasted to rain from 9 to the rest of the day."

"Oh. Curse you, Florida weather!" Patton said in a Doofenshmirtz accent.

"Phineas and Ferb. Nice."

PPatton gasped, “You understood my reference? Do you watch any other cartoons?”

Virgil blushed and said timidly, “Yeah. I like Phineas and Ferb, Gravity Falls, Spongebob Squarepants, Steven Universe, Steven Universe Future-”

Patton stopped him, grabbed him by the shoulders, and said, “Virgil. I absolutely love all of those!” Patton released him and they continued to walk. Patton continued his statement, “We definitely need to talk about those together.”

Virgil face lit up. “Really?” he asked.

“Of course! If best friends aren’t for discussing complex and diverse theories we have of cartoon shows for long periods of time, so much that it becomes an unhealthy obsession, then I don’t know what best friends are for!”

Now Virgil and Patton have reached the front doors of the school. They decide to hang out in the courtyard before first period.

“Patton, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

Patton gave Virgil an assuring nod as a response.

Virgil took a deep breath and then spoke, “A ghost. In that cave. It’s a ghost.”

Patton looked shocked. “How do you know?” He asked.

“Their name is Elliot. I’ve been friends with them since middle school. Someone made fun of me one day and I got upset and ran into the janitor’s closet. They were there, and they made me feel better about myself. From that moment on, even though they were a ghost, we were friends. We would meet every lunch period in the janitor’s closet so I wouldn’t be alone. Since I didn’t have any friends.”

“Aw, Virge! I wish I had known you back then! We would’ve been the best of friends!”

“Yeah. But that’s what happened. And it ended horribly.”

“What?”

“Roman and I became friends around the end of 7th grade. Elliot got jealous and did something… wrong. They tried to split us up. And I never really forgave them. But I did help them. I performed this,” Virgil paused, “ritual type thing. So their spirit could be passed.”

“So it didn’t work?”

“Oh, it worked, all right. But they ‘wanted closure’. They still wanted a friend, and they refused to pass. That’s why I was so shocked when you guys mentioned a ghost in that cave. That’s where I did the ritual. And I thought that it worked.”

“Oh! Virgil, I feel so bad!”

“Well, nothing left for there to do except beat Elliot. Use their weaknesses against them. But the four of us have to work together.”

The first period bell rang.

“We’ve got to go. We’ll talk more about this at lunch,” Virgil said.

“Definitely. You should tell this to Roman and Logan.”

“I will,” Virgil said as he started to walk away.

“Ah, ah, ah!” Patton stopped him, “Don’t you think I forgot about that hug!”

Virgil groaned as Patton leaned in to embrace him. When Patton, eventually, let go, he saw a strand of his hair sticking out of his hood.

He gasped. “Virgil… your hair,” Patton started, “is purple!” He exclaimed, finishing his statement excitedly.

Virgil pulled his hood down.

“Do you like it?”

“Like it? Virgil, I love it! Keep you hood down all day, and don’t let anyone tell you not to! But now, we should really get to class.”

“Yeah. Bye, Pat.”

“Bye, Virge!” 

______________________________

Roman has had a pretty easy day so far, he read a book he enjoyed in literature, watched a documentary in geography, and fell asleep in math. But now he had to face his least favorite class of the day. Chemistry. Do you know how many horrible pick up lines he’s heard someone tell their chemistry partner?! He hates this class! The only thing that Roman’s okay with in chemistry, is Ethan. Ethan is also a starter on the football team and he’s best friends with Roman. They usually make fun of the teacher and aim spitballs at the losers all class. He entered the chemistry classroom and sat down sit next to Ethan.

“Hey, what’s up man?”

“Not much, you?”

“Eh, just looking forward to crushing the Ravens tomorrow!”

“Yeah!”

Roman and Ethan high-fived.

Just then something caught Roman’s attention. Virgil walked into the classroom. Roman didn’t think Virgil was in this class. Oh, wait. Virgil’s giving the teacher a transfer slip. That explains that. Virgil turned toward Roman and looked him in the eye before blushing and quickly looking down at the floor. Shoot! Was he staring at Virgil this whole time?! Now Roman felt his own face grow red. Virgil walked toward an open seat at the back and sat down. He was so stupid! He needed to fix this! And was Ethan talking to him this whole time?

“-and I totally didn’t enjoy pounding him to the ground.”

“Hey, Ethan, can you just hold that thought for a sec?”

Roman stood up and walked to where Virgil sat.

“Hey,” Virgil said awkwardly.

“Virgil, I’m sorry if you thought I was staring, I WASN’T! I, um, got bored and started to stare off into space, and, I-I didn’t-”

“Is it my hair? You don’t like it do you?”

If Roman was being honest, he didn’t even notice Virgil’s hair.

“No! No at all! I love it! I mean-”

“Relax, Princey. It’s okay. But there is something I wanted to ask.”

“Shoot.”

“I have something to tell you, Patton, and Logan, so can you sit with us at lunch today?”

“Yeah!” Roman said, more excitedly than he’d hoped. He cleared his throat, “Yeah. I was planning to anyway.”

“Cool.”

“Cool,” Roman responded as he backed away, trying to act cool… yeah, that didn’t really work out how he had hoped considering he tripped over his own shoelace and fell. It’s fine, though. Only half the class noticed before he got back up. It’s fine. 

“Dude, nice fall,” Ethan said in between laughs.

“Thanks,” Roman said sarcastically as he sat down. As he sat down though, a pained expression came across his face.

“Dude, what’s wrong?”

Roman was quick to respond, “NOTHING!”

Ethan studied Roman’s expression and then realization struck his face. He started to laugh.

“Hey, everyone!” 

He stood up.

“Ethan, what are you doing?!”

Ethan disregarded Roman’s protest and continued to speak.

“ROMAN FELL ON HIS A**!”

The whole class laughed and Roman just put his head down in embarrassment. The teacher noticed how uncomfortable he looked and told him to get ice from the nurse. At least now he gets to skip chemistry?

______________________________

*AT LUNCH*

Patton was at their table first, of course, and then Logan and Virgil followed right after.

“Salutations. Patton, Virgil. I like what you did with your hair, Virgil. Very audacious. Are Joan and Talyn not joining us today?”

“Virgil has something to tell us, our group specifically, about what happened on Saturday.”

“I see. Well, we’ll just wait for Roman.”

Seconds later, Roman came in the cafeteria but he was with someone. Someone, familiar.

Roman walked over to their table with his friend and… a large bag of ice?

“Hello, everyone! I know Virgil said that it’s just supposed to be the four of us, but my friend here misses me too much so I invited him to our table.”

Roman’s friend glared at him for a couple seconds, then gazed over the table of Roman’s project mates. He stopped at one specific person. Virgil. They both made eye contact and Roman’s friend smirked at him. Virgil gulped. He noticed Roman’s friend looking at his hair. Being insecure, he put his hood up.

“Hello Roman’s history group. I’m Ethan.”

“I hope it’s cool that he sits with us.”

Before anyone could say anything, Virgil stood up abruptly.

“Nope!” He exclaimed as slowly started to back away. “Not today!” He exclaimed again as he started to pick up the pace. By now he was walking out of the cafeteria and once again shouted, “Not today!”

Roman pointed to the cafeteria exit and started to say, “Should we-”

“No, it’s fine. He probably just needs to blow off steam,” Patton said optimistically.

“I see your friend has disappeared, Roman.”

“What?” Roman questioned. He turned around to see that Ethan was gone. “Oh.”

“What’s the bag of ice for?”

Roman sighed and took the bag of ice from his hands, placing it on the seat in front of him. He sat down cautiously on top of the ice, and winced as he did.

“Ooooooo,” Patton and Logan said.

“Oh, be quiet. I don’t need your sympathy. I’ve embarrassed myself enough already.”

Patton then broke through the awkwardness, “Sooooo, Saturday, huh? That was weird.”

“Yes. I was going to question Virgil about it today, but, as you can see-” 

“Do either of you know what he was going to say?”

“I do,” Patton admitted, “but he should be the one to tell you guys.”

Roman groaned, “Patton, haven’t you even thought of disrespecting someone’s wishes for the sake of the greater good?”

“And what would the greater good be in this situation, Roman?” Logan questioned.

“Not keeping me in suspense, of course!”

Logan changed the subject, “Does anyone believe what Virgil told us about knowing what’s in that cave?”

“I know I don’t. I’m just doing this because I think he’s punking us. And once he does, I’ll pretend to get angry with him and say, ‘Hey, we should just be friends like old times.’ Then we’ll be even again, and he won’t be mad at me anymore!”

“That… is an extremely flawed plan you made just for the sake of feeling secure,” Logan stated.

Roman sighed, “I know.”

“I personally think that Virge is 100% telling us the truth!” Patton said cheerily.

“Oh, Patton, so naive.”

“Yes, but he also knows something that we don’t.”

“What do you think, calculator watch? Please, share with us your unwanted opinion.”

“My response is in between what your beliefs are. I believe that Virgil believes in what’s in that cave, but I, personally, do not.”

Roman gasped, “We should go exploring!” And made an over exaggerated gesture.

“Like, without Virgil?” Patton said, worryingly.

“I don’t see why not. If we go with Virgil, maybe he’ll try to hide the truth. Best thing to do would be to figure it out ourselves.”

Just then, they all received a text.

Virgil: Guys, I had a breakthrough in my ideas meet me back at the cave tomorrow after school.

“Perfect! So today we shall go without him.”

“So we will be better prepared for what we’re up against when we go with Virgil.”

“Well, when you put it that way, it makes it seem like we’re not totally betraying him,” Patton said hesitantly.

“I have a way with words,” Logan stated proudly.

“Seriously? Are we really doing this, guys? I mean, we could die!”

“Glad to see everyone’s cool with it.”

“Cool with what?”

Everyone looked up to see Ethan standing there.

“I don’t mean to rude kiddo, but it’s not really your business.”

Ethan gave Patton a once over and just said, “Cute,” then turned to Roman. “So what are you dorks doing?”

“We’re checking out this spooky cave after school for our project.”

“I want in.”

There was a moment of silence, and then, “Who are you again?” Logan asked.

“It doesn’t matter. Let’s meet in the courtyard once school ends and walk there together.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Bye, Roman.”

“Bye, E!”

“We’re really doing this, huh?” Patton asked guiltily.

“Patton,” Roman paused dramatically, “It’s for the greater good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I have three mid-terms this week and I am currently working on three projects on top of the three history packets assigned this weekend. I guess the three is my teacher's favorite number. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.  
*starts to cry for several hours due to all the stress*
> 
> (I also have two additional tests that aren't mid-terms. help me.)


	12. Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan, Patton, Roman, and Ethan go to the cave without Virgil to figure out the answers themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I have to say is... prepare yourself.

*March of seventh grade* 

“Ah! Mr. Prince! Please, enter,” Mr. Jenkins, the principal of Treesburg Prep said.

“Good morning! Mr. Jenkins, correct?”

“Yes, that is me.”

“I have my sisters with me as well, I didn’t know where they should go.”

“That’s perfect! So, you are in 7th, Emma is in 4th, and Sierra is in 1st?”

“Yep! That’s right, mister!” Sierra exclaimed with a lisp since she lost her two front teeth.

“Woah! How’d that happen, little miss?”

“Skateboarding accident. Tried to pop a wheelie, but there was a branch in the way. After I fell, there was blood everywhere!” Sierra said, proudly.

Emma was quick to respond, “Don’t worry. We were right there with her when it happened and we took her to the hospital straight away.” 

“Well, wonderful to hear what great siblings you are to each other. Anyway, I’m going to call down three students I trust from each class you are in, to show you around.”

“Thank you, Mr. Jenkins.”

“Of course.” He turned to his telephone and spoke into it, saying, “May I please have Edward Thomas, Gemma Stone, and Virgil Storm, come on down to my office?” He put the phone down and turned back to the Prince family and said, “They should be here in a couple minutes. So… where did you guys come from?”

“Well, Emma and I grew up in Treesburg, but moved to Connecticut just before Sierra was born. But after our father died, we moved back here to forget. But, no matter how hard we try, we just… can’t.”

“Wow. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Emma said as she hugged Roman and Sierra.

“Yeah, we have each other,” Sierra continued.

Just then, a student entered the office.

“Mr. Jenkins, I know why you called me here and I can explain… it was Brittany that tore the mural!”

“What? No, I’m asking you to show a new student from your class around the school.”

“Oh.”

“What mural?”

“Umm, so who am I showing around?” The girl asked nervously.

“Gemma this is Emma. Emma, meet Gemma.”

Gemma giggled, “Our names rhyme. Come on. Imma show you around. We’re gonna have a lot of fun. Follow me!” Gemma held out her hand to Emma. Emma looked at Roman and he gave her a reassuring smile. Emma hesitantly took Gemma’s hand and she pulled Emma out of the office.

“One down, two to go. Oh, here’s another one now! Good morning, Ed!”

Sierra gasped, “You!!!”

Roman looked confused, “You know him, Sierra?”

“He’s our next door neighbor! He chucked a bouncy ball at my head yesterday and ran away chuckling!”

“Ed, I would like you to show Sierra around, please.”

“With pleasure.” Ed held a hand out in front of him. “Shall we?”

Sierra groaned, “Only because I have to.” Sierra started to walk out the door. “Ugh, you’re so gross, you probably have cooties!”

As soon as they left, Roman sighed, “Ah, young love.”

“And then there was one.”

“So, what’s my tour guide like?”

“Well, he’s an excellent student, excels in the arts, but he’s quiet and keeps to himself. You seem eccentric! Maybe you can help him to come out of his shell!”

“Sure!”

“There you are, Virgil! Roman, meet Virgil. Virgil, meet Roman. Virgil, you will be Roman’s tour guide for the day.”

“Cool, let’s bounce.”

“Okay.”

Virgil led Roman out into the hallway and began to speak.

“So the school is basically separated into three sections: to our left, we have K-4, straight ahead we have 5-8, then to the right, we have high school. Of course, right behind me is the principal’s office, the secretary's office, the cafeteria, and a bunch of closets. Now, we shall be going straight ahead.”

“Wait! Before we go, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, I guess.”

“Can we be friends? You seem really cool and edgy.”

Virgil snorted, “Nah, I’m just the distant emo freak.”

“That doesn’t matter to me. So, will you?”

“I don’t think you want to be friends. Unless you automatically want to lose your street cred.”

“Come on, please?”

“The last time anyone’s ever wanted to be friends with me was- you know what? Yeah, I’ll be your friend. That’d be nice, actually, to have another friend besides a ghost.”

“What?”

“Never mind. Friends?”

“Friends!” 

____________________

*Present Time*

Roman stared off into space until he felt a tap on his shoulder. 

"You okay, kiddo?"

Roman nodded, "Yeah, I was just thinking about the first time Virgil and I met," Roman paused thoughtfully, "You know, I was the one that wanted to be friends with him. He wanted nothing to do with me," Roman chuckled and then sighed, "I really screwed things up."

"It's okay, kiddo. Virgil just needs some time, okay?"

"I know, it's just that I don't have the patience," Roman made a loud, exaggerated groan.

Patton chuckled and then spoke, "Oh, look! There's Logan now. Time to get this show on the road."

"Calculator watch, since you were late, you have to carry me."

"As enjoyable as that sounds, I would like to inform you I was only late because me and a few other pupils stayed after making lunches for the homeless shelter."

"Great. Now I feel like the jack*ss."

"Let's just go already," Ethan said, disgruntled.

"Do I need to remind you that you were not invited to be here with us?"

"Listen, four eyes. Unless you want public humiliation in front of the whole school tomorrow, I suggest you keep your mouth shut!"

"I could care less about your empty threats."

Ethan made a humorless laugh, "Oh, you just wait! Tomorrow I will kick. Your. A-!"

"Language!" Patton exclaimed before Ethan could finish.

"Let's just go, guys."

And so, the four teenagers started their walk towards the cave. The conversation was pretty limited, aside from a few sarcastic quips by Ethan every once in a while. After 15 minutes of walking, they arrived.

"Well, this place is even creepier than last time we were here," Roman said nervously. 

"Who wants to go in first?" Patton asked.

"I still nominate Roman," Logan said, matter-of-factly.

"Again! Why?!"

"You are fit, strong, and could probably pound me into the ground with zero effort if needed."

"So?"

"I'm just a figurative straw compared to you. If there is a force in there and it eats you, it will most likely be satisfied."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?!"

"No."

"Ugh, you guys suck! I'll go!" Ethan exclaimed.

"Why don't we just all go in together?" Patton asked, hopeful.

"Fine. Let's just go."

So they all walked into the cave together. They all shuddered upon entering. They continued to walk farther into the cave.

"I don't feel so good," Roman said.

"It's actually, 'I don't feel so well'," Logan corrected.

"Logan, buddy. I feel like we've bonded in the past week or so, so I'm going to tell you this in the nicest way possible. Just shut the f*** up!"

"Language!" Patton exclaimed.

"English!" Roman responded.

"I guess the famous quote by Michael Strahan is correct. We are our own worst enemy," Logan said thoughtfully.

"Listen nerd, can you not be a smart*ss for just one minute?!" Ethan exclaimed.

Patton sighed, "I give up."

Suddenly, a gust of wind whooshed by.

Roman shuddered again. "Did you guys feel that?"

"What are we feeling exactly?"

Then a childish giggle echoed throughout the cave.

"You can't tell me you didn't hear that!"

"I did, actually," Logan stated, surprised.

"Sorry guys, that was probably me. My tummy's been getting the rumbles after that spicy chicken at lunch."

"You are all idiots." Ethan stated with certainty.

Then, an ominous voice called out to Logan, Patton, and Roman. It chuckled and said, "Oh, I'm going to have so much fun with you three, aren't I? So many insecurities to choose from, you're almost making it too easy. Why would Virgil EVER choose you three… over me?"

"Okay… I definitely heard that," Patton said with a tremble in his voice.

"Well, now that I have your attention, let me just remove that bully out of the equation," the voice said as Ethan fell through a vortex below.

"No, you're the bully! Well, I mean, he is a bully too… but you're the bigger bully!" Patton stuttered into nothingness. 

"NO! You all need to be QUIET! My turn."

Elliot emerged from behind them and they all jumped at their arrival.

"Logan Crofter. Aka, robot. Because that's all you really are isn't it? An emotionless, senseless robot, with no concern for your or other people's feelings. You even deny romantic feelings you have for others because you feel you don't deserve love." Elliot tsked and then moved on to Patton.

"Patton Hart. You know, your name is quite a coincidence, really. You are the heart of the group. Always bringing others up. But what about you? You've always known that you weren't happy, yet you only help others and not yourself. What if you never get better?" 

Elliot started to move on to Roman.

"Ah, I'm certainly going to enjoy this. Roman Prince. First of all, you took my only friend from me you a**hole. Secondly, after you took my friend away, you just mistreated him. Took him for granted. Even though in your heart, you knew he was the only one who understood you." Elliot shrugged, "Was it worth it?"

"No! It wasn't!"

"That's right!"

"Can you just stop. Please," Patton said softly.

"I will. But I'll be back another day."

"Yeah? Well, we'll be back tomorrow! With Virgil!" Roman exclaimed triumphantly. 

Elliot made an evil laugh, "Thanks for the heads up that you're coming back tomorrow. Toodles!"

And with that, Elliot snapped himself away and Ethan fell through a vortex from above and slammed on the ground.

Ethan spoke breathlessly, "I've been falling for thirty minutes!"

However no one responded to Ethan. Roman was too busy pound his fists against the wall, Patton was silently crying, and Logan was trying to calm Patton. 

Ethan walked over to them.

"What's… going on here? Are you trying to punk me? What was that?"

Roman turned around. "We don't know! That's why we came! We needed answers!"

Patton tried to speak, "I-I'm trying t-to be b-better. I'm g-getting help."

"It's okay, Patton. Just… make sure to tell us if you're ever distressed. Okay?"

"Y-yeah. I will."

Roman spoke to the two of them, "Do either of you know what that thing was?"

Patton stood up. "I do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and I'm sorry this took so long. Poor Patton. I'm sorry about that by the way. Also, I hope someone got my Avengers reference. Have a good week!


	13. Secrets Kept From Virgil (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going into the cave without Virgil really did cause an oopsie!

*1 month after Virgil and Elliot became friends*

Virgil rushed around the corner hoping he wasn’t going to be late. After not showing up for lunch yesterday, Virgil felt obligated to be early today. When he reached the janitor’s closet, he felt a surge of power and confidence that broke into him, and he kicked the door in front of him.

He shouted, “What’z up b*tch?! It’z ya boi, Virgil!” He laughed and continued, “Did I scare you?”

Virgil then heard the sound of a mop falling behind him. Startled, he whipped around, but the mop wasn’t on the ground, it was levitating. Virgil felt frightened as he started slowly backing away from the mop. But as he backed away he felt a cold, lifeless breath hover upon the back of his neck. Although he didn’t want to, he slowly turned around to see Elliot floating there with a crazed look in their eyes.

“Hiya, Virgie! Did you miss me?!” They exclaimed.

In shock, Virgil stumbled backwards, tripping on his own shoelace and falling.

Elliot laughed and said, “Sorry, Virge, I didn’t think I would scare you that hard.”

“It’s fine. Just, please don’t do it again.”

“Okay,” Elliot paused and then said, “But you gotta admit, that was pretty good!”

“Yeah, I guess so. You’re getting better at possessing objects.”

“Why, thank you. So, what game should we play? Two truths and one lie, would you rather, truth or dare-”

“What about truth or truth?”

Elliot looked at Virgil with a confused expression. “What’s truth or truth?”

Virgil acted hesitant. “I don’t know. I’m not sure if you're ready to hear what it is.”

“Come on, Virgil! Please!” Elliot begged.

“It’s truth or dare, without the dare,” Virgil explained, ominously.

Elliot’s suspenseful look turned annoyed. “Wow, Virge. Way to take the fun out of America’s favorite game.”

“I’m pretty sure America’s favorite game, is that reality T.V. game show, America’s Next Big Shot.” (*cough cough* totally not a reference to my other fic *cough cough*)

“Okay, onto the game. So Virgil, truth or truth."

"Hmmmmmm. I don't know. Truth, I guess. Man, I didn't realize how tough that decision would be."

"Ha ha ha." Elliot said blandly. "Okay, so." Elliot paused thoughtfully to think of something to ask Virgil. "Once you graduate high school, what do you want to do?"

"Oh, that's an easy one," Virgil started. "I want to leave this dump of a town and go to college. I would bring you with me, of course. Hopefully, I'll make it into a creative arts college with a scholarship, and thrive there. Of course, in order to have enough money, I'd have to get a job as soon as possible."

"You like creative arts?"

"Oh, yeah! I love drawing, painting, sculpting, you name it! I even like to write songs too!"

"Do you play any instruments?"

“Piano and guitar.”

“Cool! Do you sing?”

"In front of people? God, no."

"Are you good?"

"Not really."

"I'll be the judge of that!"

Virgil snorted. “Fine. What should I sing?”

Elliot thought for a second, “We probably don’t listen to the same kind of music… so I’m gonna ask you to sing a song that everyone knows. The Phineas and Ferb theme song!”

“I thought you’d never ask…” 

Virgil started to sing. He got through about the first three lines when Elliot stopped him.

“Dude! You’re amazing!”

Virgil blushed. “No I’m not.”

“Did you not just hear yourself?! You’re a natural!”

“Thanks.”

________________________

*Present Time (Tuesday)*

Virgil stared at the space in front of him. He wasn't sure exactly how he got there. He didn't even remember. All he knows is that he went in the direction his feet took him, and he ended up there. He wasn't exactly sure he wanted to be there. Against what his brain was telling him, he sat down at the bench in front of him. It was like he was being held against his own will, except he had a choice. He glanced at the grand piano in front of him and skimmed his fingers along the keys. 

"Ah, my old friend."

He found himself playing a couple songs before, eventually, singing along with them. He forgot the rush of adrenaline he felt when playing. He got lost in the music and stopped keeping track of time. At the end of one of his songs, he heard clapping behind him. He turned around so quickly he probably had whiplash. 

"Wow Virgil! That was amazing!"

It was Roman.

"How much of that did you hear?!"

"Just that song! I knew you had a free period too so I wanted to know if you wanted to walk to lunch with me. So I looked around to find you. But I couldn't. But then I heard angelic singing! So, yeah."

"Lunch?" Virgil asked. He then looked at the clock on the wall. He said, "Shoot, I lost track of time."

Virgil started to walk towards the doorway.

"Yeah, you should probably plant a tracking device on it."

Virgil brushed past Roman and said, "Shut up, that's Patton's thing."

Roman spoke into nothingness, "Huh, I thought he would be crankier."

Virgil shouted at him from the hallway, "I heard that!"

Roman rushed into the hallway and walked next to Virgil.

"You know, you're almost as good as me," Roman said arrogantly. 

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Why are you hiding that talent?"

"Well if you're better than me, why are you hiding your talent?"

Roman looked offended, "How dare you! I have a reputation to withhold."

Virgil scoffed, "And I don't?"

Roman just stood there in awkward silence after that. He didn't want the conversation to end. 

"So… just like old times, huh?" Roman asked, hopeful.

"Yep." Virgil replied as he popped the p.

There was an awkward silence once more, but by now they were at the cafeteria so Roman couldn't do anything to fix it.

He only wanted Virgil back and it seemed that the more he tried, the farther apart they grew. 

"Good afternoon, kiddos!" Patton exclaimed as the two approached their table.

“Hi, Patton,” Roman said as he slunked into one of the chairs.

However, Virgil didn’t say anything, he just sat at the seat farthest away from Roman.

Roman groaned loudly at Virgil’s actions and put his head down.

“So, Virgil. You said you have a plan for today?” Logan asked.

“Yes. But first, there’s something I need to tell you guys.” Virgil took a deep breath and continued, “The thing that chased me out of the cave… is a ghost.”

Roman and Logan turned to Patton with worry in their eyes.

Patton mouthed, ‘Act surprised!’

Logan and Roman then both made extremely unconvincing gasps. Patton face palmed, but Virgil just continued to speak. He didn’t have time for their antics.

“The ghost is named Elliot, and they used to be my friend. But enough of the backstory for now. I should get to the plan. So-”

“Roman! Where are you?” A voice asked.

The voice belonged to a football jockey in a very dirty letterman jacket. Like, covered in filth and garbage, dirty. His name is Remus Duke.

“Yo! Roman, there you are! I just dared Thompson to chug a carton of expired milk, and he did it! There’s puke everywhere! You need to see it!” Remus then looked around at the people Roman was sitting next to. “Ro, why are you still hanging out with these nerds?”

Logan looked exasperated. He had had it. After a couple seconds of uncomfortable silence he spoke up.

“Listen, buddy. Figuratively read the room, otherwise known as our table. We’re in the middle of an important discussion,” Logan said and then turned to the rest of the table. “You guys are seriously okay with Roman’s friends just butting in to everything we’re doing?!”

Roman spoke, “Logan, relax.” Roman then started speaking to Remus. “Show me the puke.”

“Right this way!”

As Remus led Roman away from their table, he turned back and stuck his tongue out at the three of them.

“That’s it,” Logan stood, cracked his knuckles, and started walking in Remus’ direction.

Patton quickly ran over to Logan and dragged him back.

“Nope! Let’s not go there!”

As Patton and Logan sat back down, Virgil began to speak, “And he wonders why I won’t forgive him.”

“Well, Virgil… everyone gets caught up in what’s important versus what they think is important...?” Patton starts, trying to salvage the situation, “And I guess Roman thinks… looking at puke is, um, more import- you know what? You’re right, he’s being a jerk.”

"Can you still explain the plan for us Virgil?"

Then the bell rang. The three of them stood up.

"I'll explain it once we get to Roman's house. Also, the reason why I wanted to wait until today to come is so Elliot wouldn't see us coming. If they knew when we were coming back, the plan wouldn't work." Virgil sighed. "Well, see you guys after school. We're meeting in the library, right?"

Patton just stood there, wide-eyed, with his hands over his mouth. He felt so guilty, but still kept quiet. Logan saw Patton struggling and answered Virgil’s question so he wouldn’t have to.

“Yes, that is accurate.” 

“Cool. See you then!”

Virgil left the cafeteria. And Roman came back.

“Hey guys, I’m back. Where’s Virgil?”

Logan walked over to Roman and patted his shoulder.

“Oh Roman… you ignorant nincompoop.” 

Roman gestured to Patton.

“What’s up with him?”

“Well, Virgil informed us that his plan won’t work if Elliot is aware we’re coming.”

“And…” Roman started. Then a look of realization struck his face. “I told them we would be back today.”

“Bingo bongo,” Patton spoke softly.

The three of them stood there, looking guilty until the warning bell rang. 

“We should really head to class,” Logan said.

“Yeah. We’ll just tell Virgil about this later.”

“Okay. Bye, guys.”

And so they all walked away, defeated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this is so short! I felt like it was getting too long, so I separated it into two parts. The next chapter should be out in the next week. And if it's not... feel free to yell at me in the comments! Have a great day/night!


	14. Secrets Kept From Virgil (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of the last chapter. Virgil is told about what Elliot is really capable of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is. A day later then I promised I would have it out by, but I mean, I did it!!!! And by the way, there is no flashback this chapter since it's a continuation.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Here we are! La casa de Prince!” Roman introduced as the four of them stepped into Roman’s house.

“Thanks for letting us meet at your house, Roman,” Patton said gratefully.

“No problem. Mi casa es su casa,” Roman started. “It’s not much, but it’s home.”

The four of them went into the living room and sat either on the couch or on a chair… except for Virgil.

“Virgil! Just sit on the couch!” Roman exclaimed.

“No. If I’m not allowed to sit on the coffee table, then I will stand.”

Roman and Virgil then stared into each other’s eyes, intimidatingly. Patton and Logan looked confused.

“What’s going on?” Patton questioned.

“I believe they are having a conversation with their eyes,” Logan responded.

“Or maybe a secret staring contest?”

“No, they have both blinked several times.”

“Whatever it is, should we be scared?”

After that Roman made a long, dramatic sigh.

“Fine! You win! Sit on the coffee table!”

Just then, Emma entered the room.

“Roman, please don’t tell me you’re letting Rosa sit on the coffee table again.”

“No, actually. I’m letting-”

“Virgil!” Emma exclaimed before throwing herself into Virgil’s arms. 

“Is the princess having a fine day?” Virgil asked the girl in his arms.

“Only the greatest now that you’re here, my knight!”

Emma stepped away from Virgil and the two of them laughed.

“What brings you here? Group work?”

“Yep,” Virgil replied.

“Emma, I’d like you to meet Patton, considering he’s the only one of these three that you haven’t met before,” Roman told Emma.

“Good afternoon, kiddo!”

“Hi,” Emma replied shyly.

“Oh, so you’ve already met Logan?” Virgil asked.

Emma blushed and looked down and the ground.

She answered Virgil hesitantly, “Y-yeah.”

Logan smiled and said, “It’s wonderful to see you again, Emma.”

“You as well, Logan,” Emma replied while still looking at the ground. “I’m going back to my room now. Bye.”

Once Emma left, Logan spoke, “Is she always like that? She seems so shy.”

Patton, Roman, and Virgil looked at each other knowingly.

“What?” Logan asked.

As Virgil got comfortable sitting on the coffee table, Patton responded to Logan, “It’s nothing, Logan.”

“Alright, if you say so.” Logan turned to Virgil. “So, Virgil, we have something important to tell you before you explain the plan.”

Before Virgil could respond to Logan, however, he was interrupted… again.

“I guess you’re right, Emma. Specs is pretty cute.”

Apparently, Sierra was having a conversation with Emma in the kitchen.

“I know, right?”

“Not as cute as Virgil, though.” Sierra turned toward the living room and shouted, “Virgil, are you sure that’s you?! You weren’t this pretty a couple years ago!” 

“Why are you shouting? We could hear you perfectly fine before that. You guys are too loud,” Roman said.

Sierra and Emma then walked into the living room.

“I’m serious though.” Sierra continued. “Roman, are you actually gonna make a move on him? If not, let me know.”

Now, both Roman and Virgil were flustered.

Luckily, they were saved when Rosa entered from the kitchen with a tray of drinks.

“Hi, Ro Ro! I heard we had guests and decided to make refrashments!”

Roman chuckled, “It’s pronounced refreshments, Rosa.”

“Well, whatever it’s called, I didn’t know how to make it, so I just poured water into four plastic cups.”

“That was very thoughtful, Rosa. Do you need help carrying the tray?”

“Nope! I’m a big girl now!” Rosa exclaimed as she placed the tray in front of Virgil on the coffee table.”

“Thank you, Rosa!” The three guests exclaimed in unison as Rosa beamed at her hard work.

“How old are you, Rosa?” Patton asked.

“I’m dis many!” Rosa exclaimed as she held up five fingers.

“Wow! Five years old!”

“I know. She’s an old lady,” Roman teased.

“I am not!” 

Everyone laughed.

“Oh, by the way, Sierra and Emma, I heard you guys talking about boys and I just wanted to say, how can you stand them?! Boys are so gross!”

“Once you get over your fear of cooties you should be fine. It took me a couple years though,” Sierra said, deep in consideration.

“I’m still on the fence,” Emma said jokingly. “Why do you think I’m bisexual?”

“Bi- what?” Rosa asked. 

“Oh my poor, sweet, innocent Rosa. We have much to discuss,” Emma said as she wrapped her arms around Rosa and Sierra, and the three of them walked up the stairs and into one of their bedrooms.

Roman waited until he made sure that they were actually gone, and then spoke again.

“What we wanted to tell you was that we- well- you see-”

“WE WENT TO THE CAVE WITHOUT YOU YESTERDAY!” Patton exclaimed before Roman could finish. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t handle the burden anymore.”

“You guys WHAT?!”

“We’re sorry… we just needed to see for ourselves if you were telling the truth or not,” Roman explained.

“You… you didn’t trust me?” Virgil asked, clearly hurt.

“How could we when you didn’t give us any information?!” Roman asked angrily.

“How could I explain if you’re never around?!” Virgil shot back.

“Can you two stop fighting?!” Logan shouted.

Roman and Virgil looked at Logan to see him sitting next to a crying Patton.

“Oh, Patton,” Virgil said sympathetically.

“We’re sorry,” said Roman.

Patton spoke, “I- I know I haven’t spoken about it since then, but yesterday really traumatized me. When Elliot brought up all of our insecurities, I- I felt really b-bad.”

“Aw, Pat.”

“Wait, what happened? Tell me every detail.”

And so they did. They explained everything to Virgil.

“A vortex? They could never do that before. Who knows what else they learned how to do?” Virgil said to himself.

“Virgil? Are you… alright?” Logan asked, concerned.

“No. There’s no way my plan will work now. They’re way too powerful.” Virgil gave a humorless laugh. “I guess I’m kind of glad you guys went behind my back to visit the cave.”

“You know what? So, we can’t go to the cave today. Maybe not for a week. But together we will gain the courage to go back. Together, we are stronger!”

After Roman’s speech there was silence for quite some time.

“And that’s the kind of attitude that gets us killed, everyone!” Virgil said sarcastically.

But Patton disregarded Virgil’s statement, stood up, and started slow clapping. Soon Logan even joined in.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Virgil stated.

But Logan and Patton just continued to clap.

“Ok, ok,” Virgil said as he stood up and started clapping.

“We make a good team, guys!” Roman said as the clapping settled down.

“Still hopeless, but I guess you’re right.”

“Stop with that talk, Virgil. Group hug!” Patton exclaimed.

“Oh, fun,” Virgil said in a monotone voice.

But on the inside he felt warm and fuzzy with the three of them. He had never really felt like this before. 

Maybe things will work out after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know THAT moment when you're writing a fic, and you know exactly how you want to start and end it, but everything in between is just a jumble of unconnected plot points? Yeah, that's about where my head's at right now.
> 
> Have a great weekend!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic so please be nice and let me know what you think


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